New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 40 September 29, 2005
Revealing of the Son of Man
Talking with one very active evangelical Christian recently, she said, concerning the hurricane Katrina: 'It was not judgment; it was just one of those things that happen...' She has the attitude so many nominal Christians have, to wit, that God really is not all that serious about what He says, and that as long as they go to church and don't drink, smoke, and curse (too much), then we will have all the promises of God; she cannot fathom that God would send such a catastrophic judgment upon people who call themselves 'Christians.' But I had to contradict her, and told her it was indeed judgment and that there was more on the way; when it happens, she will be shocked. I went on to tell her that not ONE righteous person was adversely affected by either hurricanes, Katrina or Rita...that is simply a promise God gives to those who believe Him.
But consider this:
10 as it is written,
There is none righteous, no, not one;
11 There is none that understands,
There is none that seeks after God;
12 They have all turned aside, they are together become unprofitable;
There is none that doeth good, no, not, so much as one:
13 Their throat is an open sepulchre;
With their tongues they have used deceit:
The poison of asps is under their lips:
14 Whose mouth is full of cursing and bitterness:
15 Their feet are swift to shed blood;
16 Destruction and misery are in their ways;
17 And the way of peace have they not known:
18 There is no fear of God before their eyes.
(Rom.3.10-18)
Whether traditional Christians want to believe it or not, this text is speaking about THIS generation, of God's people there are indeed NONE RIGHTEOUS, and none are seeking after God as I can testify; being on the radio almost four years on four radio stations, begging people to study with very, very little success.
With this in mind, it is no wonder that God would send a hurricane to devastate and followed by another on this country; we thought nothing of it when the tsunami devastated so many countries and killed 500 thousand people in the Indian Ocean, since they were mostly Moslem in Indonesia and Sumatra, where some in the vicinity ran sex shops for Australian and European tourists where they abused children eight and ten years old; they were wiped out in the tsunami as one might expect but for judgment to come here to this Christian country seems impossible. But as I said on my October 10 radio broadcast, this country is being judged because it has forgotten God and is allowing wicked men and women to denigrate the Bible and God; people like the ACLU and the NEA and the liberal news media lead the way in being critical of anyone who would believe the Bible and God.
It has gone on too long and God is going to put a stop to it; consider this, and then I will explain its application:
45 But and if that servant say in his heart, My lord delayeth his coming; and shall begin to beat the menservants and maidens, and to eat and drink, and to be drunken; The lord of that servant will come in a day when he looketh not for him, and at an hour when he is not aware, and will cut him in sunder, and will appoint him his portion with the unbelievers. And that servant, which knew his lords will, and prepared not himself, neither did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes. But he that knew not, and did commit things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. For unto whomsoever much is given, of him shall be much required: and to whom men have committed much, of him they will ask the more. I am come to send fire on the earth; and what will I, if it be already kindled? (Lk.19.45-49)
God has blessed this country far beyond any country in history and has made the Bible assessable to every citizen; we have the absolute best and most accurate Bibles the world has ever known, yet this people only give lip service to God and do not take Him seriously, therefore the judgments.
As a consequence, God sends judgments, and here again is why:
8 Yea, in the way of thy judgments, O LORD we have we waited for thee; to thy name, even to thy memorial name, is the desire of our soul. With my soul have I desired thee in the night; yea, with my spirit within me will I seek thee earnestly: for when thy judgments are in the earth, the inhabitants of the world learn righteousness. Let favor be showed to the wicked, yet will he not learn righteousness; in the land of uprightness will he deal wrongfully, and will not behold the majesty of the LORD. (Isa.26.8-10)
Men should learn righteousness when they are judged as with these 'acts of God,' as the insurance industry calls them, but as I listen to people talk about the Katrina and Rita hurricanes they blame the damage and suffering on everything but themselves. It does not even enter their minds that God may be doing it.
Most Christians do not see anything the matter with what they are doing because their preachers are not talking to them about denying themselves and taking up the stauros (i.e. to put ones self to death in the passions and lusts; see Gal.2.10); their preachers, their religious friends, they all are living in this world as though this life is where it all is, but consider what Jesus said:
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a mans foes shall be they of his own household. He that loveth father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loveth son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that takes not his cross (i.e. stauros), and follows after me, is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. (Mt.10.34ff)
And this:
3:1 If then you have been raised with Christ, seek the things that are above, where Christ is, seated at the right hand of God. 2 Set your minds on things that are above, not on things that are on earth. 3 For you have died, and your life is hidden with Christ in God. 4 When Christ who is your life appears, then you also will appear with him in glory. 5 Put to death therefore what is earthly in you: sexual immorality, impurity, passion, evil desire, and covetousness, which is idolatry. 6 On account of these the wrath of God is coming. 7 In these you too once walked, when you were living in them. 8 But now you must put them all away: anger, wrath, malice, slander, and obscene talk from your mouth. 9 Do not lie to one another, seeing that you have put off the old self with its practices 10 and have put on the new self, which is being renewed in knowledge after the image of its creator. (Col.3.1-10 ESV)
This dying is what we must do putting to death the passions and lusts of our flesh, but God's people are totally given to these things, and thus God sends judgment, but there is more to it, as Jesus continued:
34 And take heed to yourselves, lest at any time your hearts be overcharged with surfeiting, and drunkenness, and cares of this life, and so that day come upon you unawares. For as a snare shall it come on all them that dwell on the face of the whole earth. Watch ye therefore, and pray always, that ye may be accounted worthy to escape all these things that shall come to pass, and to stand before the Son of man. (Lk.21.34-36)
Here it all is, eating and drinking and seeking after the things of this world.
Therefore, let's consider something Jesus said:
The revealing of the Son of Man will bring judgment
20 Being asked by the Pharisees when the kingdom of God would come, he answered them, "The kingdom of God is not coming with signs to be observed, 21 nor will they say, Look, here it is! or There! for behold, the kingdom of God is in the midst of you." 22 And he said to the disciples, "The days are coming when you will desire to see one of the days of the Son of Man, and you will not see it. 23 And they will say to you, Look, there! or Look, here! Do not go out or follow them. 24 For as the lightning flashes and lights up the sky from one side to the other, so will the Son of Man be in his day. 25 But first he must suffer many things and be rejected by this generation. 26 Just as it was in the days of Noah, so will it be in the days of the Son of Man. 27 They were eating and drinking and marrying and being given in marriage, until the day when Noah entered the ark, and the flood came and destroyed them all. 28 Likewise, just as it was in the days of Lot they were eating and drinking, buying and selling, planting and building, 29 but on the day when Lot went out from Sodom, fire and sulfur rained from heaven and destroyed them all 30 so will it be on the day when the Son of Man is revealed. 31 On that day, let the one who is on the housetop, with his goods in the house, not come down to take them away, and likewise let the one who is in the field not turn back. (Lk.17.20-31)
First of all, does this ring any bells?! This is what God's people are doing no one can deny it; they all, almost without exception are heaping it up, and eating, and drinking; when I am around Christians as I have told you before, there are two topics they talk about: their sicknesses and medication, and their eating, and most of them look like it; they are fat and sick. And so many I know are so busy with their businesses and jobs (note Lk.14.15-24); many families have both the mom and dad working to support their big house mortgage and late model vehicles, and their games and things but there is something more here that none of you have seen; it is MY ministry; he says, ...when the Son of Man is revealed.
Now this will be understood and believed only by you who have gone to my web sites and read about my ministry; how that God would send me to reveal His glory, and I have shown you that the wisdom and knowledge of God is the glory of God from 1 Cor.2.7 as he calls the glory of God the wisdom of God.
I have been revealing the Word of God since the early 1960s in newsletters, on the radio (three stations in 1969 and 70), and on short wave (see radio schedule at the bottom of this page) for the better part of two years and do you realize what Jesus said WHEN THE SON OF MAN IS REVEALED then judgments would come?! Everything God's people are doing is described in Luke 17 above and includes the judgment that would follow: you are seeing it now, and it is going to continue to come.
These judgments will increase and increase until finally folks will begin to realize that it is not global warming causing the hurricanes and the earthquakes and the droughts; it is God judging them for their sins. When they begin to realize that, then I will be preaching for them to repent and turn to God so that they might claim Psalm 91 for themselves, and as Jesus said in Lk.21.34, that they might prevail to escape the things coming upon the earth.
I had a longer newsletter written, but decided to condense it into these two pages; I am going to be posting these newsletters on my site, New Testament Times this week, as I am revamping that site; if I send you this, it will include the October 10 radio broadcast; this newsletter closely follows the outline for that broadcast.
Communicate.
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New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 38 July 6, 2005
By Yeshua Ariel
Dig Deep
I've got to show you something Julia realized this morning: you have heard me mention Lk.6.46-49 many times; it reads:
46 And why call ye me, Lord, Lord, and do not the things which I say? Whosoever comes to me, and hears my sayings, and does them, I will show you to whom he is like: He is like a man which built an house, and digged deep, and laid the foundation on a rock: and when the flood arose, the stream beat vehemently upon that house, and could not shake it: for it was founded upon a rock. But he that hears, and does not, is like a man that without a foundation built an house upon the earth; against which the stream did beat vehemently, and immediately it fell; and the ruin of that house was great. (Lk.6.46ff)
You have heard me use this against those who will not obey the Word of God, but Julia pointed out that those who learn from God, dig deep into the Word of God they do not simply read it superficially seeing what is on the surface.
I thought this was something you would like to hear, but I have added to it; those who build their lives on the earth, that is to say, of this world, seeking after it rather than God when the trouble comes they will be taken away.
The world reads the Bible but never understands the depth of it because they simply do not want to invest the time because they do not give their hearts. Their hearts remain in this world and that is what they seek after but Jesus went on to say,
19 Lay not up for yourselves treasures upon earth, where moth and rust doth corrupt, and where thieves break through and steal: But lay up for yourselves treasures in heaven, where neither moth nor rust doth corrupt, and where thieves do not break through nor steal: For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Mt.6.19ff)
If you build your house of the things in this world, you shall lose your life, as Jesus said again:
22 And he said unto his disciples, Therefore I say unto you, Take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat; neither for the body, what ye shall put on. The life is more than meat, and the body is more than raiment. Consider the ravens: for they neither sow nor reap; which neither have storehouse nor barn; and God feeds them: how much more are ye better than the fowls? And which of you with taking thought can add to his stature one cubit? If ye then be not able to do that thing which is least, why take ye thought for the rest? Consider the lilies how they grow: they toil not, they spin not; and yet I say unto you, that Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. If then God so clothe the grass, which is to day in the field, and to morrow is cast into the oven; how much more will he clothe you, O ye of little faith? And seek not ye what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink, neither be ye of doubtful mind. For all these things do the nations of the world seek after: and your Father knows that ye have need of these things. But rather seek ye the kingdom of God; and all these things shall be added unto you. Fear not, little flock; for it is your Fathers good pleasure to give you the kingdom. Sell that ye have, and give alms; provide yourselves bags which wax not old, a treasure in the heavens that fails not, where no thief approaches, neither moth corrupt. For where your treasure is, there will your heart be also. (Lk.12.22ff)
But, if we would seek to heap up things in this life, we have this:
34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth: I came not to send peace, but a sword. For I am come to set a man at variance against his father, and the daughter against her mother, and the daughter in law against her mother in law. And a mans foes shall be they of his own household. He that loves father or mother more than me is not worthy of me: and he that loves son or daughter more than me is not worthy of me. And he that takes not his stauros, and follows after me, is not worthy of me. He that finds his life shall lose it: and he that loses his life for my sake shall find it. (Mt.10.34ff)
So now, let me show you something the Lord showed me yesterday: I have always been confused as to what is different about the HEART and the MIND when Jesus said this:
37 Jesus said unto him, Thou shall love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind. This is the first and great commandment. (Mt.22.37,38)
But I realized that your heart is where your AFFECTION, your CHARACTER is, while your mind has to do with your THOUGHTS. So, what this comes down to is that we cannot love this world, but love God, and that if we want treasure in heaven, we will lay our affection on the Word of God rather than this world, which will pass away (note 2 Cor.4.18).
Those who do not love God will not even want to dig deep into the Word of God because their affection is on this world not God, therefore, as Jesus said, they will lose it all and have nothing in the end. Just thought you'd like to know.
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New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 37 June 5, 2005
Doing the Will of God
One thing Jesus did not say was that obeying God was easy, as here:
13 Enter ye in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow is the way, which leads unto life, and few there be that find it. (Mt.7.13,14)
Listen to it from the English Standard Version:
13 “Enter by the narrow gate. For the gate is wide and the way is easy that leads to destruction, and those who enter by it are many. 14 For the gate is narrow and the way is hard that leads to life, and those who find it are few.' (Mt.7.13,14 ESV)
Then this:
1 Furthermore then we beseech you, brethren, and exhort you by the Lord Jesus, that as ye have received of us how ye ought to walk and to please God, so ye would abound more and more. For ye know what commandments we gave you by the Lord Jesus. For this is the will of God, even your sanctification, that ye should abstain from fornication: That every one of you should know how to possess his vessel in sanctification and honour... (1 Thes.4.1-4)
On the basis of these two texts hangs our lives; first, he says, we must enter the strait gate; the second he tells us that we must sanctify ourselves, i.e. cleanse ourselves, and of course that means every aspect of our life. For all of us, these are profound statements, and the church world has not taught this.
The word 'strait' is very revealing; it is also translated to 'anguish' (see Rom.2.9) and keeps company with 'tribulation,' so it takes on an ominous meaning, in other words folks, he says, it ain't easy to find eternal life. Then the word, 'narrow' comes from the Greek thlibo which is translated to 'afflict,' 'trouble,' 'anguish,' and 'tribulation,' among other things so that it is no marvel when he says, '...few they be that find it.'
But consider what the church world has taught us! According to them, everything comes quick and easy no worries at all, just 'believe', whatever that means. So here I come with all this bad news while some of you are going through really difficult times; well, let me simply say, that if you do not faint, but are willing to keep on fighting through the maze of troubles you are having, then God will eventually help you if indeed you are doing it for His sake; in the mean time, you will indeed suffer.
You see, the church world has raised a generation of pantywaists who can't take pain, who are impatient, self-centered, and self-gratifying, implacable; it is all me, me, me, and my comfort, so that I suppose I could tack on here the many examples of the suffering of Jesus, and those who sought after God went through to obtain the LIFE he speaks of. Or, I could refer to Hebrews 12.1-14 where Paul speaks of the discipline the Lord puts us through as a father with his sons and daughters, but I want to go another direction with this issue.
Divorce and Remarriage
We have been asked about this numerous times and it is a very hard thing, but again, as Jesus inferred, it is not easy to enter in through that strait gate. We have several texts dealing with the situation, but Mark puts it in such a way as to cover most of the situations:
2 And there came unto him Pharisees, and asked him, Is it lawful for a man to put away his wife? trying him. And he answered and said unto them, What did Moses command you? And they said, Moses suffered to write a bill of divorcement, and to put her away. But Jesus said unto them, For your hardness of heart he wrote you this commandment. But from the beginning of the creation, Male and female made he them. For this cause shall a man leave his father and mother, and shall cleave to his wife; and the two shall become one flesh: so that they are no more two, but one flesh. What therefore God hath joined together, let not man put asunder. And in the house the disciples asked him again of this matter. And he saith unto them, Whosoever shall put away his wife, and marry another, commits adultery against her: and if she herself shall put away her husband, and marry another, she commits adultery. (Mk.10.2-12)
Then this covers the rest:
31 It was said also, Whosoever shall put away his wife, let him give her a writing of divorcement: but I say unto you, that every one that puts away his wife, saving for the cause of fornication, makes her an adulteress: and whosoever shall marry her when she is put away commits adultery. (Mt.5.31,32)
While these two texts cover the basic problem, that is not to say that there are not many more issues which arise having to do with resolving the many varied situations involved.
So, here are the questions I will attempt to answer:
1) What constitutes adultery?
2) How can those sincerely wanting to obey God acquit themselves of any judgment which might occur,
3) What about the children?
The first question: what constitutes adultery? It is simply as above: living with someone not your own, that is, living with someone who has been previously married, man or woman.
The only exception to this rule is if a woman goes off to live with another man, or has a sexual experience with another other than her husband; in this case, the man can remarry without any consequences.
Now there is a preacher on short wave that tells his people that if the man gives a woman a bill of divorcement, he can remarry as Moses allowed them to do, but this is in direct conflict with what Jesus said above.
Where two are living together, and one or the other or both have been previously married, they must separate EXCEPT in the case where children are involved; for the sake of the children, the Lord will allow you to stay together if you are able to refrain from any sexual activities. You will have to sleep in separate rooms, but even then it will be exceedingly difficult, and only the fear of the consequences will keep you from committing adultery...but to put it in simple terms, it is better to refrain from sex rather than to burn (see 1 Cor.7.9).
The Eunuch
Consider this:
7 They say unto him, Why then did Moses command to give a bill of divorcement, and to put her away? He saith unto them, Moses for your hardness of heart suffered you to put away your wives: but from the beginning it hath not been so. And I say unto you, Whosoever shall put away his wife, except for fornication, and shall marry another, commits adultery: and he that marries her when she is put away commits adultery. The disciples say unto him, If the case of the man is so with his wife, it is not expedient to marry. But he said unto them, Not all men can receive this saying, but they to whom it is given. For there are eunuchs, that were so born from their mothers womb: and there are eunuchs, that were made eunuchs by men: and there are eunuchs, that made themselves eunuchs for the kingdom of heavens sake. He that is able to receive it, let him receive it. (Mt.19.7-12)
Do you want to enter into the Kingdom of Heaven? If that is not important to you, then you may disobey this teaching, but if you would flee from the wrath to come, then you will make yourself a eunuch for the sake of the children.
What sin is there that has destroyed more people than any other? What sin is listed over and over on the things which the flesh does? It is adultery and fornication; in the first place, having sexual relations with someone not you own, and second, having sex out of wedlock; both will bring us into judgment, and there are NO EXTENUATING CIRCUMSTANCES.
Arguments
Many have told us how that they married in the heat of the moment, or in the foolishness of their youth, or because they were drunk, or they did not know it was wrong, or because they had this long talk with God and He allowed it. Does not matter if a gun was held to your head; you will refrain from the sexual aspects or you will stand in judgment.
We must take God seriously else we might as well go fishing; if we want the promises of God, we have two choices: we can go to the church world where it is all free and without cost or consequences, where in the end, we will pay dearly for our sins, OR we can go to God where, after we have endured a great deal of pain and heat and persecution and sweat and tears and hunger and chiding and heartache, we can inherit the Kingdom of Heaven, NOW and in THIS TIME. The choice is ours.
Now, more needs to be said about God's will, even being sanctified as Jesus said,
21 Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. (Mt.7.21)
And this:
31 And there come his mother and his brethren; and, standing without, they sent unto him, calling him. And a multitude was sitting about him; and they say unto him, Behold, thy mother and thy brethren without seek for thee. And he answereth them, and saith, Who is my mother and my brethren? And looking round on them that sat round about him, he saith, Behold, my mother and my brethren! For whosoever shall do the will of God, the same is my brother, and sister, and mother. (Mk.3.31-35)
Then, this:
47 And that servant, who knew his lords will, and made not ready, nor did according to his will, shall be beaten with many stripes; but he that knew not, and did things worthy of stripes, shall be beaten with few stripes. And to whomsoever much is given, of him shall much be required: and to whom they commit much, of him will they ask the more. (Lk.12.47,48)
So, somebody will jump up and say, 'Well then, if somebody gets married and does not know the commandment they will be beaten only with a few stripes...' That is true, but in your case, you know the will of God, and then the fact is, those who did not know the will of God and lived in adultery will not receive the Kingdom of Heaven, although they may be beaten with few stripes; again, once you know the will of God, you are obliged to obey it.
This is the long and short of it and I invite your questions, and can you believe it: I have people become angry with me because I tell them the truth! I make life miserable for them by showing them the will of God, how that God would have them seek after Him to know Him, and so... Amen.
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New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 33 April 30 2005
False Prophets
I have told people from the get go to get into their Bibles to learn the truth before they go off and listen to some preacher but now with the Internet, one has a virtual smorgasbord of garbage to chose from, of every flavor, color, and description one could possibly imagine, and it is taking its toll on unsuspecting people.
Some of the sites are slick and polished, while others are disorderly and dumpy, but the ones that attract people the most are those which claim miracles and signs, and they quote this:
[17 And these signs shall accompany them that believe: in my name shall they cast out demons; they shall speak with new tongues; they shall take up serpents, and if they drink any deadly thing, it shall in no wise hurt them; they shall lay hands on the sick, and they shall recover.] (Mk.16.17,18)
So this is their Scriptural proof, so they go on to say, that if they are BELIEVING these signs will follow them the only problem is, this text is not found in early manuscripts; it's NOT PART OF THE BIBLE! but because so many tout the King James Version as the ONLY version God blesses, they have their way, or so it would seem, but that is not the end of the story. (Don't get me wrong; the King James is a good Bible but does have a few places that have either been added by these old scribes or deleted, but except for this text, they are minor defects.)
Then, some would say, 'Well why does it happen then? why do people get healed; some of these miracles they do are real and cannot be denied?' Oh, some of these men do indeed get people healed and work miracles, as Julie and I can testify, how that one we went to, one of these so-called 'healing evangelists' healed us of some things, and prophesied to me of things to come, which indeed are coming to pass but that is not the end of the story.
One man named William Branham (who died in a head-on car crash) did many wonders; another, named A.A. Allen (who died when he flew his airplane into the side of a mountain; they could not find enough of him to fill a tea cup) did great wonders and supposedly lead many hundreds of thousands to the Lord, something else I would like to talk about. And there was the healer Katherine Kulman (who died on the operating table while undergoing open heart surgery), who healed many while angels were seen gathering around her while she was on the stage but neither is that the end of the story.
So, am I going to bad-mouth these people? YES, YOU CAN BET YOUR LITTLE PINK BOOTIES I AM, because the things they taught and what others teach is some of the worst trash you could ever imagine, and people have followed these men into their graves, but never came to know Jesus Christ in truth.
Here, before you get angry with me, consider what Jesus said:
'Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. Do men gather grapes of thorns, or figs of thistles? Even so every good tree brings forth good fruit; but the corrupt tree brings forth evil fruit. A good tree cannot bring forth evil fruit, neither can a corrupt tree bring forth good fruit. Every tree that brings not forth good fruit is hewn down, and cast into the fire. Therefore by their fruits ye shall know them. Not every one that saith unto me, Lord, Lord, shall enter into the kingdom of heaven; but he that doeth the will of my Father who is in heaven. Many will say to me in that day, Lord, Lord, did we not prophesy by thy name, and by thy name cast out demons, and by thy name do many mighty works? And then will I profess unto them, I never knew you: depart from me, ye that work iniquity. (Mt.7.21-23)
MANY will come to him and try to justify themselves because of the signs and wonders they performed but he will be unimpressed, as he says, 'I never knew you...' and then he says something you have to deal with: '...depart from me, ye that work iniquity.' Now, WHY would he say this if God was a party to what they were doing, if God was pleased with them, if God approved of them, if God sanctioned what they were doing?! Also notice that they said they did it all, by his name! They were not doing it using the name of a strange god.
Now, I made a point of showing you that some of these healers and miracle workers died violent deaths in accidents or at the hands of men; if they had the salvation of God...if they had the truth, they would have been delivered, so let's go here:
'If there arise in the midst of you a prophet, or a dreamer of dreams, and he give you a sign or a wonder (from mopheth or miracle), and the sign or wonder come to pass, whereof he spake unto you, saying, Let us go after other gods, which you have not known, and let us serve them; you shall not hearken unto the words of that prophet, or unto that dreamer of dreams: for the LORD your God proves you, to know whether you love the LORD your God with all your heart and with all your soul. You shall walk after the LORD your God and fear him, and keep his commandments, and obey his voice, and you shall serve him, and cleave unto him. And that prophet, or that dreamer of dreams, shall be put to death; because he has spoken rebellion against the LORD your God.' (Deu.13.1-5a RV)
Now, say what you will about these healers and prophets who come to you in sheep's clothing, and it may, as some of you say, boggle your mind that these men can work miracles and heal folks, but that is not the end of the story.
To WHAT purpose are they miracles and healings and prophecies? So, you get healed, is that the end of the story?! No; what is important then? Here:
28 They said therefore unto him, What must we do, that we may work the works of God? Jesus answered and said unto them, This is the work of God, that ye believe on him whom he hath sent. They said therefore unto him, What then doest thou for a sign, that we may see, and believe thee? what work thou? (Jn.6.28-30)
So they asked Jesus for a sign so that they might believe him but he did not answer them until here:
60 Many therefore of his disciples, when the heard this, said, This is a hard saying; who can hear it? But Jesus knowing in himself that his disciples murmured at this, said unto them, Doth this cause you to stumble? What then if ye should behold the Son of man ascending where he was before? It is the spirit that gives life; the flesh profits nothing: the words that I have spoken unto you are spirit, and life. (Jn.6.60-63)
He says, seeking after signs is of the FLESH and PROFITS NOTHING, whereas it is HIS WORDS THAT GIVE LIFE!
So for my critics, who would follow after these prophets and healing evangelists such as William Branham and A.A. Allen and what they teach, put this in your pipe and smoke it. Jesus belittles folks seeking after signs and such, but emphasizes the WORDS he speaks, since they give SPIRIT AND LIFE.
But consider how God feels about these guys who stand and prophesy, then teach people error: He said to take them out and kill them; if we did that today, there would not be a preacher standing that I know of; they all preach junk and falsehood and do not come back and tell me they teach some truth; preaching a little truth along with a lot of garbage is NOT GOD; as I say, a truth couched in lies is not truth, but is tainted and corrupted. If they teach that you must keep the Sabbath then tell you that we are in the Dispensation of Grace, they teach lies, and even though they tell you to keep the Sabbath, does not excuse their lies.
But there are a couple preachers who have radio and television programs who are quoting from Mark 16.9ff to prove what they do, and they are bringing in big bucks and when you go to their web sites, it is slick and polish and pomp and beautiful things full of words and promises to coax and deceive you into reading their sermons and following after and giving to them.
Now that I have said that, I want you to know that God will be highly DISPLEASED with you if you go off to their web sites and read what they have to say; yes, I started to surf around to check these guys out, but my conscience forbid me even though I know the truth and would not be influenced by what they say. You say, 'Well then, if you know the truth, how is it wrong to go read what they say?' Simple: you are sitting at the table of demons (1 Cor.10.14-22) and partaking of their junk; if you eat it, you become defiled and unclean, and God will reject you, so do not do it.
But going back to what Jesus said in Mt.7, let me continue:
15 Beware of false prophets, who come to you in sheeps clothing, but inwardly are ravening wolves. By their fruits ye shall know them. (Mt.7.15,16)
Do you see: this text PRECEDES what he said about them coming to him trying to justify themselves, but because they do all these wonders and prophesy of things which do indeed come to pass, you FORGET this admonition, to wit that you will know them BY THEIR fruits and some of you suppose the fruit has to do with their healing and prophecy and working miracles; NOT SO; consider again:
33 Either make the tree good, and its fruit good; or make the tree corrupt, and its fruit corrupt: for the tree is known by its fruit. Ye offspring of vipers, how can ye, being evil, speak good things? for out of the abundance of the heart the mouth speaks. The good man out of his good treasure brings forth good things: and the evil man out of his evil treasure brings forth evil things. And I say unto you, that every idle word that men shall speak, they shall give account thereof in the day of judgment. For by thy words thou shall be justified, and by thy words thou shall be condemned. (Mt.12.33-37)
Now, this is an extension of what he was saying in chapter 7, that by their fruits you will know a false prophet and here is how we can judge them: BY THEIR WORDS, but you are judging them by their miracles and healings.
You will begin to say, 'Well Yeshua, how can we know whether they are right or wrong if we do not listen to them?' I know these guys are everywhere and cannot be avoided, but as I say, you need to know your Bibles before you listen to them, but if you know your Bible, you will not want to listen to them; what was it that got you into trouble in the first place?! You listened to them, but then you began to read your Bibles and began to realized they were wrong and then you heard me, and because you knew something of the truth, you recognized what I had to say as being the truth. But, again, that is not the end of the story.
You know how I have begged and pleaded with you to study; I have given you many reasons why you need to study and seek God, but still you would rather go sit at somebody's feet to learn, or read their books; children of God, there is NO LIFE in what they say because there is only LIFE IN THE WORD OF GOD, and they do not have it, so the answer is, when you hear them, go read and study what they say, and you will know whether they speak the truth or not; some of them are very persuasive, but after a while they will say something totally off the wall, and then you will know them, but the problem is sometimes we are too tolerant and will allow some of what they say to stand, even though it is not true; you should not do that especially with me.
But if you occupy yourself with listening to these men, you will fall short of the glory of God; you need to concentrate on your own study and seeking God, and you know how that I have tried to lead you in a logical way to find the answers. If I say ANYTHING that does not seem to line up with the Scriptures, TELL ME; you should know me well enough now to know that I will not jump on you, but will answer you; sometimes you might have to wait for an answer because I am too busy or too tired, but I will give you a comprehensive answer if you need it.
Now finally, I am going to repeat myself and please listen and discern: you need the FOUNDATION OF GOD so that you can be born of the Spirit as I showed you in the previous study, and I tell you to consider the stones in their order, how they become more and more spiritual as you progress through them, beginning with Repentance from dead works until you have grown up into Eternal Judgment; when you get there, you will be BORN OF THE SPIRIT, but as I keep telling you, it takes a heap of study and obedience to the truth to get there, and as you are finding out, some of those stones (i.e. of the Foundation) are hard to accomplish: the Laying on of the Hands, for example, which has to do with your relationships but these things are all yours if you have the courage and willingness to obey God and go all the way to love Him with all you heart and soul and mind when you finally are born of the Spirit, the Word of God will open up to you like a pair of huge doors which swing inwardly to the Kingdom! It is a wonderful thing to anticipate.
And so, communicate. Amen
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New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 44 June 11, 2005
The Sabbath
What I am going to show you in this discussion is absolutely essential in your relationship with God; we are going to talk about how that God began to instruct Israel in His ways which translates on down to us.
Here the children of Israel have been brought out of Egypt, across the Red Sea, as God shows them His power and majesty; we take up the story as they enter into the Wilderness of Sin on toward Sinai, where the children of Israel began to complain because they were hungry, so that God commanded manna to appear on the ground every morning.
But then, God instructs them to gather enough manna for the day, and not to gather more than what they could eat during the day, else it would spoil, then on the sixth day, they were to gather twice as much and then lay up for the seventh day, and it would not spoil thus introducing them to the Sabbath.
There is considerable confusion about the Sabbath and a stigma that goes along with it; a pseudo stigma that negates the truth the Sabbath is a basic command of God and that even predates the giving of the Law to Moses, so let's begin here:
1 And they took their journey from Elim, and all the congregation of the children of Israel came unto the wilderness of Sin, which is between Elim and Sinai, on the fifteenth day of the second month after their departing out of the land of Egypt. And the whole congregation of the children of Israel murmured against Moses and against Aaron in the wilderness: and the children of Israel said unto them, Would that we had died by the hand of Jehovah in the land of Egypt, when we sat by the flesh-pots, when we did eat bread to the full; for ye have brought us forth into this wilderness, to kill this whole assembly with hunger. Then said Jehovah unto Moses, Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you; and the people shall go out and gather a days portion every day, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not. And it shall come to pass on the sixth day, that they shall prepare that which they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. (Exo.16.2-5)
Now, here is where God began the Sabbath; He commanded them to gather enough manna for two days, whereas they were afore told to gather only enough for one day, lest it spoiled, but on the 6th day, they were commanded to gather enough for the seventh day and that it would not spoil, and this God did command, and said, that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law.
Then we go here later on in the same chapter:
23 And he said unto them, This is that which Jehovah hath spoken, Tomorrow is a solemn rest, a holy sabbath unto Jehovah: bake that which ye will bake, and boil that which ye will boil; and all that remains over lay up for you to be kept until the morning six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day is the sabbath, in it there shall be none. And it came to pass on the seventh day, that there went out some of the people to gather, and they found none. And Jehovah said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws? See, for that Jehovah hath given you the sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exo.16.23, 26-30)
So, while it may seem that God is only concerned about our gathering and our cooking, He goes on to say that we should not leave our place on the Sabbath and this all so that He could prove them to see whether they would walk in His law.
However, when we move on into the 20th chapter, it is evident that keeping the Sabbath is one of the commands of the Ten Commandments and thus much more than simply a dietary law. But notice, that the law given to Moses with all the instructions concerning their worship around the Tabernacle came after the giving of the Ten Commandments; fact is, the Law of Moses and the Law of God, the Ten Commandments, are completely different.
The reason why this is important to understand is that many confuse the Ten Commandments as being part of the Law of Moses, and thus included with the dietary laws, and the laws of worship, Passover, Day of Atonement, Feast of Weeks, etc., etc... Then Ezekiel comes along and says this:
21But the children rebelled against me; they walked not in my statutes, neither kept mine ordinances to do them, which if a man do, he shall live in them; they profaned my sabbaths. Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them, to accomplish my anger against them in the wilderness. Nevertheless I withdrew my hand, and wrought for my names sake, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I brought them forth. Moreover I sware unto them in the wilderness, that I would scatter them among the nations, and disperse them through the countries; because they had not executed mine ordinances, but had rejected my statutes, and had profaned my sabbaths, and their eyes were after their fathers idols. Moreover also I gave them statutes that were not good, and ordinances wherein they should not live; and I polluted them in their own gifts, in that they caused to pass through the fire all that opens the womb, that I might make them desolate, to the end that they might know that I am Jehovah. (Eze.20.21-26)
This flies in the face of those who would want to continue in the dietary laws, and then Jesus comes along and says this:
14 And he called to him the multitude again, and said unto them, Hear me all of you, and understand: there is nothing from without the man, that going into him can defile him; but the things which proceed out of the man are those that defile the man. And when he was entered into the house from the multitude, his disciples asked of him the parable. And he saith unto them, Are ye so without understanding also? Perceive ye not, that whatsoever from without goes into the man, it cannot defile him; because it goes not into his heart, but into his belly, and goes out into the draught? This he said, making all meats clean. And he said, That which proceeds out of the man, that defiles the man. For from within, out of the heart of men, evil thoughts proceed, fornications, thefts, murders, adulteries, covetings, wickedness, deceit, lasciviousness, an evil eye, railing, pride, foolishness: all these evil things proceed from within, and defile the man. (Mk.7. 14-23)
What?! Jesus debunks the dietary laws completely, and Paul goes on to say,
23 All things are lawful; but not all things are expedient. All things are lawful; but not all things edify. Let no man seek his own, but each his neighbors good. Whatsoever is sold in the shambles (i.e. market place), eat, asking no question for conscience sake, for the earth is the Lords, and the fulness thereof. (Mk.7.23-26)
so that he views what Jesus said as having to do with everything sold as edible for us to eat, not giving any regard to what our conscience might dictate, as it may have been taught by the law of Moses.
But now, thus far we have discovered the following things about the Sabbath: First, that we are to prepare on Friday what we want to eat on the Sabbath; Second, we are not to leave our place, except as we can read in the New Testament, how that Jesus went a Sabbath's Days journey (Acts 1.12) which is something like a quarter mile we can walk away from our dwellings. This includes driving to church, as some would have you, as even Seventh Day Adventists do. But there is more:
15 In those days saw I in Judah some men treading wine-presses on the sabbath, and bringing in sheaves, and lading asses therewith; as also wine, grapes, and figs, and all manner of burdens, which they brought into Jerusalem on the sabbath day: and I testified against them in the day wherein they sold victuals. There dwelt men of Tyre also therein, who brought in fish, and all manner of wares, and sold on the sabbath unto the children of Judah, and in Jerusalem. 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? 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. And it came to pass that, when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut, and commanded that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I over the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of wares lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. (Neh.13.15-21)
So that Nehemiah forbid them to buy or sell on the Sabbath, which simply translates to us as not buying anything, or selling any thing on the Sabbath but there is more:
13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, and the holy of Jehovah honorable; and shalt honor it, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in Jehovah; and I will make thee to ride upon the high places of the earth; and I will feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of Jehovah hath spoken it. (Isa.58.13,14)
This is the tenor, of the Sabbath: it is simply not to find our own pleasure to do it watching television, listening to books on tape, etc., etc., but keeping your mind occupied with the things of God.
Of course, if you are a woman and alone in your family wanting to keep the Sabbath, you must abide by the wishes of your husband, since you are subject to him. There is more, then we will get to a general discussion.
We are not to kindle a fire with a view to doing any cooking on the Sabbath (Exo.35.1-3; Num.15.32-36).
You keep the Sabbath from sun down to sun down, from Friday at evening to Saturday at evening; see Lev.23.32.
The arguments
Of course, there are arguments against keeping the Sabbath; I grew up in the church supposing the Sabbath was just for the Jews, and it was 17 years after I turned to Jesus Christ before I realized the commandment applied to me.
The first argument goes like this: Well, the Old Testament has been done away with; we are not subject to anything the Old Testament says. The answer is, simply, that the Old Testament is still in effect (2 Tim.3.16,17; Rom.1.1,2; 16.25,26; Mt.5.17,18; etc., etc.).
The second most popular argument is this: Well, our Sabbath is on Sunday. How foolish, I say; I was not aware that God rested on the first day of the week!
The third argument is, that the Sabbath is part of the works of the law, and we are not justified by the works, as the argument goes. This requires considerable more study because we have to get into the fact that the works, as mentioned in Eph.2.8,9 are not doing good things, as some assume, but have to do with the works of the law, as Paul talks about in Phil.3.2-11, even the works under the Law of Moses; that's the short and long of it. You will need to get my discussion on the Law.
The fourth argument is, Well, the Sabbath is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament, therefore we are not bound to keep it. It is true that it is not specifically mentioned in the New Testament for us to keep, although Jesus disciples kept it (Lk.23.56), but then it is also true that the first three Commandments are not mentioned either: You shall have no other gods before me, You shall not make unto you any graven image, You shall not use the name of the Lord thy God in vain; so that if the one is true, that we are not bound to the fourth commandment, then neither are we bound to the first three which of course cannot be true.
The Ten Commandments
Now, we do have to answer some questions about the Law of God, but you have to know that the Law of God is not only the most pervasive subject in the Bible, but that it is one of the Keys to the Kingdom of Heaven (Mt.16.18,19).
But, we can cut through the chase and go to Matthew 19:
16 And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why ask thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou would enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. The young man saith unto him, All these things have I observed: what lack I yet? Jesus said unto him, If thou would be perfect, go, sell that which thou hast, and give to the poor, and thou shall have treasure in heaven: and come, follow me. But when the young man heard the saying, he went away sorrowful; for he was one that had great possessions. (Mt.19.16-22)
Now, here is Jesus naming some of the Ten Commandments so that we cannot be mistaken about the necessity to keep them, but STILL the argument goes and you might be shocked to learn that some actually believe this that, well, Jesus was speaking just to the Jews here, so that it does not necessarily apply to us.! Oh, yes; I had a young minister who was a graduate of Regent University and Seminary (Pat Robertson's outfit) who said exactly that, but the answer is here:
3 If any man teaches a different doctrine, and consents not to sound words, even the words of our Lord Jesus Christ, and to the doctrine which is according to godliness; he is puffed up, knowing nothing, but doting (i.e. sick) about questionings and disputes of words, whereof cometh envy, strife, railings, evil surmisings, wranglings of men corrupted in mind and bereft (i.e. destitute) of the truth, supposing that godliness is a way of gain. (1 Tim.6.3-5)
so that, if any cannot accept what Jesus said, he knows nothing, and is mentally sick and has a corrupt mind.
General Discussion
Of course, many questions arise, such as folks in the military, what do they do? Here:
And soldiers also asked him, saying, And we, what must we do? And he said unto them, Extort from no man by violence, neither accuse any one wrongfully; and be content with your wages. (Lk.3.14)
Although a lot went unsaid, when the soldiers came to John the Baptist to be baptized of him, he laid nothing more upon them than what you read above; as for keeping the Sabbath, it is not required for those in the military, in essential services such as in hospitals and nursing homes, for civil authorities as the police and maintenance workers who might have to clear the streets in the winter. If you are one of these, and have the opportunity to keep the Sabbath, then of course you should.
As for kindling a fire (Exo.35.1-3; Num.15.32-36), I have heard Church of Christ ministers say that the Sabbath is no longer in effect since we have to kindle fires to keep warm on the Sabbath, but as Jesus said, the son of man is lord of the Sabbath (Lk.6.1-5), whereas the intension of the statute was NOT TO COOK OR PREPARE FOOD ON THE SABBATH. Again, they want to discredit the Ten Commandments any way they can because they do not understand the difference between the Law of God and the Law of Moses; were that not so, the woman would never have a day of rest.
Remember, the Sabbath was given to us as a day of rest, and how blessed it is to have a day when the pressure is off when we can read our Bibles and not have to jump up every little bit. Of course, for mothers with young children, it is still a work day, but still she does not have to do laundry or cook if she prepares ahead.
Let me tell you a story: we lived on a farm east of Denver; we heated with an oil stove. We also kept a house in Denver, so that one Sabbath I was in town; well my wife and a couple of our children were on the farm when it got really cold, well below zero, and the oil stove stopped because there was a little water in the line coming in from outside. We had a wood stove as back-up, but being the Sabbath my wife did not know what to do; she did not want to kindle a fire to light the wood stove, so they endured the cold until I got out there late that evening, by then they had the fire going but asked me if they did right of course, they suffered because of the lack of understanding; they had every right to start the fire to keep warm. God is not unreasonable.
This reminds me of the case where people will not take their children to doctors as they see the promises of God for healing but when their children die, they suppose they did right, but the fact is, if you are going to trust God in such a case, you had better be walking in the truth, else He is not obliged to honor you or deliver you.
Then, there is the other side of the coin: I hear this one preacher whom have heard for years stuck on the gifts of healing and so forth, saying that there is something the matter with your gospel if you are not getting people healed and casting out devils; he knows nothing else; he has to ignore so much of the Scriptures (e.g. Mt.7.21-23) which contradict his thesis but that is what so many do; they have this one little area that they preach in, and as long as their people support them, they see no reason to go on into more of the Word.
We did things wrong, when we first got into keeping the Sabbath, however, because we were having meetings in our house and had people drive across town to get to us; that was clearly a violation of the commandment (Exo.16.29), but we were learning how to keep the Sabbath little bit at a time, so that it took quite a while before we had it all together.
The Bottom Line
In Exodus 4, the Lord says this, after he told them to prepare their food on the sixth day so that they would not have to do it on the Sabbath:
'...that I may prove them, whether they will walk in my law, or not.'
When they kept the Sabbath they prospered; when they broke the Sabbath, they suffered for it, but it applies to ALL that God has spoken; the Sabbath is only the beginning, but it is to test us whether we will obey all of God's Word or not.
I am the Lord that heals thee
However, as we follow along, God brings them out of Egypt, makes this promise to them:
26 and he said, If thou wilt diligently hearken to the voice of Jehovah thy God, and wilt do that which is right in his eyes, and wilt give ear to his commandments, and keep all his statutes, I will put none of the diseases upon thee, which I have put upon the Egyptians: for I am Jehovah that heals thee. (Exo.15.26)
then gives them the Ten Commandments which they promptly refuse, as Paul says:
18 For ye are not come unto a mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, and unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, and the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that no word more should be spoken unto them; for they could not endure that which was enjoined See that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not when they refused him that warned them on earth, much more shall not we escape who turn away from him that speaks from heaven: whose voice then shook the earth. (Heb.12.18ff)
The same warning applies to us: how shall we escape if we refuse the Word of God? As Paul says in another place:
1 Therefore we ought to give the more earnest heed to the things that were heard, lest haply we drift away from them. For if the word spoken through angels proved stedfast, and every transgression and disobedience received a just recompense of reward; how shall we escape, if we neglect so great a salvation? (Heb.2.1-3)
The Command is forever
What God did as He brought the children of Israel to Sinai was to institute the principle that they must obey the truth; they must obey the commands of God if they want to receive the promises, but God had already instituted this promise; here:
1 And there was a famine in the land, besides the first famine that was in the days of Abraham. And Isaac went unto Abimelech king of the Philistines, unto Gerar. And Jehovah appeared unto him, and said, Go not down into Egypt. Dwell in the land which I shall tell thee of. Sojourn in this land, and I will be with thee, and will bless thee. For unto thee, and unto thy seed, I will give all these lands, and I will establish the oath which I sware unto Abraham thy father. And I will multiply thy seed as the stars of heaven, and will give unto thy seed all these lands. And in thy seed shall all the nations of the earth be blessed. Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws. (Gen.26.1-5)
It is not as though God came up with His commandments first at Sinai, but God has always set them forth for all who wanted to receive the promises, beginning here with Abraham.
OBEYING GOD'S VOICE is where it all is; nothing has changed or been altered, then Jesus came on the scene saying the same thing:
15 If ye love me, ye will keep my commandments. And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may be with you for ever, even the Spirit of truth: whom the world cannot receive; for it beholdeth him not, neither knoweth him: ye know him; for he abideth with you, and shall be in you. I will not leave you desolate: I come unto you. Yet a little while, and the world beholds me no more; but ye behold me: because I live, ye shall live also. In that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you. He that hath my commandments, and keeps them, he it is that loves me: and he that loves me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself unto him. Judas (not Iscariot) saith unto him, Lord, what is come to pass that thou wilt manifest thyself unto us, and not unto the world? Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my word: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him. He that loves me not keeps not my words: and the word which ye hear is not mine, but the Fathers who sent me. (Jn.14.15-24)
After making these three wonderful promises, he ends it by saying that what he has promised is not from him but is from the Father.
Paul reiterates the keeping of the Commandments:
8 Owe no man anything, save to love one another: for he that loves his neighbor hath fulfilled the law. For this, Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not covet, and if there be any other commandment, it is summed up in this word, namely, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. Love works no ill to his neighbor: love therefore is the fulfilment of the law. (Rom.13.8-10)
And this:
18 Was any man called being circumcised? Let him not become uncircumcised. Hath any been called in uncircumcision? Let him not be circumcised. Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing; but the keeping of the commandments of God. (1 Cor.7.18,19)
But then, there came a transition:
7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then would no place have been sought for a second. 8For finding fault with them, he saith,
Behold, the days come, saith the Lord,
That I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah;
9 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers
In the day that I took them by the hand to lead them forth out of the land of Egypt;
For they continued not in my covenant,
And I regarded them not, saith the Lord.
10 For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel
After those days, saith the Lord;
I will put my laws into their mind,
And on their heart also will I write them:
And I will be to them a God,
And they shall be to me a people:
11 And they shall not teach every man his fellow-citizen,
And every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord:
For all shall know me,
From the least to the greatest of them.
12 For I will be merciful to their iniquities,
And their sins will I remember no more.
(Heb.8.8-12; Jer.31.31ff)
This transition was necessary, because the Law of God is spiritual, not carnal, that is, of this creation, as Paul says:
14 For we know that the law is spiritual: but I am carnal, sold under sin. (Rom.7.14)
As God says above, He will write His laws in our hearts, so that we will keep His commandments from the heart, which will bring us again to the Sabbath, as Paul again says:
1 Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said,
As I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest:
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; and in this place again,
They shall not enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remains that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, he again defines a certain day, Today, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before),
Today if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remains therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience. For the word of God is living, and active, and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing even to the dividing of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and quick to discern the thoughts and intents of the heart... (Heb.4.1-12)
So who says the Sabbath is not mentioned in the New Testament?! Of course it is, but it becomes spiritual as do all the commandments, because their intent is to CLEANSE OUR HEARTS.
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New Testament Times
Newsletter No. 4
The Sabbath - The Arguments
I recently had one of my listeners go into a web site where the Sabbath was denigrated; the preacher, we will call Dan, set forth the usual classic arguments typical to so many in the church world. Because of this, I want to carefully go over his arguments to show you the absolute nonsense of the argument set forth by those who would do away with the Ten Commandments, and the Sabbath in particular; you might not be interested because you have been brought up supposing the Sabbath was just for the Jews, as was I, but if you are serious about your relationship with God, read this study; if nothing else, you will find it informative.
I have to admit that in doing this, I was infuriated by this man's blatant and careless misuse of Scripture; he strained to make a point without taking into consideration plain facts, but I will let you decide.
The Old Testament Done Away
The arguments against the Sabbath begin with this statement:
All of the Ten Commandments were reinstated in the New Testament with only one exception, the one dealing with the Saturday Sabbath Day being kept holy.
Whup! Wait a minute; there is something very wrong here, fact is it is his whole premise is flawed: WHERE, pray tell, were the Ten Commandments or any other part of the Old Testament done away in the first place?! If the Ten Commandments had to be reinstated, then so has the rest of the Old Testament, but tell me WHERE was any of it done away?! Where is there ANY STATEMENT IN THE BIBLE DOING AWAY WITH THE TEN COMMANDMENTS OR ANY OTHER PART OF THE OLD TESTAMENT? You have to have some proof that the Commandments had to be reinstated, but this guy offers NONE. Going from the hypothesis that any or all of the Old Testament has to be reinstated is an ignorant and foolish statement. His argument is as full of holes as a sieve; I get angry even talking about it, yet many believe it.
Of course, there are parts of the Law of Moses which Jesus fulfilled (note Mt.5.17-19), but Jesus was emphatic that the Scriptures would not be done away until they were fulfilled and Jesus fulfilled only that which had to do with his coming and being offered as the Passover Lamb; the rest remains.
How many times have I heard, The Old Testament has been done away; this has to be among the most ignorant statements made about the Scriptures. First, consider the fact that when the Apostles wrote their epistles, the New Testament did not exist; they were writing it! All they had were the Law and prophets (and the Writings), but consider what Jesus first said to the men traveling on their way to Emmaus after he had been raised:
25 And he said unto them, O foolish men, and slow of heart to believe in all that the prophets have spoken! Behooved it not the Christ to suffer these things, and to enter into his glory? And beginning from Moses and from all the prophets, he interpreted to them in all the scriptures the things concerning himself. (Lk.24.25-27)
Somebody forgot to tell Jesus that the Law and prophets had been done away? But, of course, this guy, Dan I copied off the Internet, has in mind to do away with the Sabbath specifically, while he goes on to infer that all the Old Testament is no longer in effect, in fact, that is the whole premise from which he speaks, but the problem is, in doing away with the Sabbath it is like the adage, throwing out the baby with the bath water. How can you single out ONE STATEMENT out of the Old Testament and throw it out, without including the rest?
We know the things Moses commanded the people to do with respect to their observing days, and feasts, and years, no longer apply because Jesus fulfilled those things, such as the ordinances of their worship around the Tabernacle in offering up gifts and sacrifices which could not make the worshipper perfect (note Heb.9.6-10), but that is all; the rest is still in effect, as we can read when Philip addresses the Ethiopian eunuch:
30 And Philip ran to him, and heard him reading Isaiah the prophet, and said, Understand thou what thou readest? And he said, How can I, except some one shall guide me? And he besought Philip to come up and sit with him. Now the passage of the Scripture which he was reading was this,
He was led as a sheep to the slaughter;
And as a lamb before his shearer is dumb,
So he opened not his mouth:
33 In his humiliation his judgment was taken away:
His generation who shall declare?
For his life is taken from the earth.
34 And the eunuch answered Philip, and said, I pray thee, of whom speaks the prophet this? of himself, or of some other? And Philip opened his mouth, and beginning from this Scripture, preached unto him Jesus. (Acts 8.29-35)
Again, WHAT Scriptures was Philip using? The New Testament? maybe the New International Version? maybe the New King James Version? or the Revised Standard Version? or the Douay Version? He could have had even a Scofield Reference Bible, right? Do you see how silly this all becomes, it is like the lady who said, Well, if the King James Version is good enough for the Apostle Paul, it is good enough for me. Pure ignorance, not that we would denigrate the King James Version; these people are so intent on doing away with the Old Testament, and in particular the Sabbath, they negate all the facts to achieve their end which is to deceive the people then this:
1 Now when they had passed through Amphipolis and Apollonia, they came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his custom was, went in unto them, and for three sabbath days reasoned with them from the Scriptures, opening and alleging that it behooved the Christ to suffer, and to rise again from the dead; and that this Jesus, whom, said he, I proclaim unto you, is the Christ. (Acts 17.1-3)
Again, somebody forgot to tell Paul that he should have been going about doing his normal business on the Sabbath, if Sunday is the Christian Sabbath, a term not in the Bible. But what were the Scriptures Paul was using? You know the Jews would not have allowed the New Testament into their synagogues (supposing it did exist); it had to be from Moses and the Prophets!
Then there were these fools at Beroea:
10 And the brethren immediately sent away Paul and Silas by night unto Beroea: who when they were come thither went into the synagogue of the Jews. Now these were more noble than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness of the mind, examining the Scriptures daily, whether these things were so. (Acts 17.10,11)
These were Jews who were searching the Scriptures of Moses and the Prophets (and the Writings) daily; how foolish they were to believe that old stuff written by Moses and the Prophets is that not right?! Didn't they know they could not be saved by those old antiquated writings? But in that vain, consider what Jesus said:
39 Ye search the scriptures, because ye think that in them ye have eternal life; and these are they which bear witness of me; and ye will not come to me, that ye may have life. (Jn.5.19,40)
Where do you suppose Jesus found this in the New Testament? Of course I taunt the premise from which these people operate; it is so off the wall it is absolutely absurd! yet many believe this simply because they do not know their Bible.
Then, here is another Jew; listen to what Luke says about him:
24 Now a certain Jew named Apollos, an Alexandrian by race, an eloquent man, came to Ephesus; and he was mighty in the scriptures. This man had been instructed in the way of the Lord; and being fervent in spirit, he spake and taught accurately the things concerning Jesus. (Acts 18.24,25)
Whoa! A Jew who taught accurately from the Scriptures concerning Jesus, what's going on here?! Doesn't Luke know the Old Testament has been done away? But then we come to something Paul wrote which is difficult to comprehend for those who suppose the Old Testament has been outmoded or outdated or done away:
4 For whatsoever things were written aforetime were written for our learning, that through patience and through comfort of the scriptures we might have hope. (Rom.15.4)
Paul, let me ask you this: How can we receive comfort or patience from that which is done away? Yeshua, we have only begun; consider what I say in Roman 16:
25 Now to him that is able to establish you according to my gospel and the preaching of Jesus Christ, according to the revelation of the mystery which hath been kept in silence through times eternal, but now is manifested, and by the scriptures of the prophets. (Rom.16.25,26)
What?! The Gospel, the preaching of Jesus, the mystery of the Gospel is manifested in the Scriptures of the Prophets?! What are you thinking about Paul?! You must be out of your mind! Yea, you have spent too much time in prison; that prison food must have deteriorated your thinking processes maybe it is your old age. Okay, Yeshua, your are very funny, but consider this:
1 Now I make known unto you brethren, the gospel which I preached unto you, which also ye received, wherein also ye stand, by which also ye are saved, if ye hold fast the word which I preached unto you, except ye believed in vain. For I delivered unto you first of all that which also I received: that Christ died for our sins according to the scriptures; and that he was buried; and that he hath been raised on the third day according to the scriptures. (1 Cor.15.1-4)
Then in his madness; this Dan I quoted from off the Internet, continues to talk about the preaching of the Gospel and how Jesus died for our sins that he was buried and raised the third day and he says this is according to the Scriptures! Here he talks out of both sides of his mouth; first he tries to make the point that the Old Testament has been done away, then he says it has to be reinstated, then uses the Old Testament in his argument; he does not see that Jesus appointed you Paul, to preach to us from the Old Testament and to write thirteen books of the New Testament!! I can't take much more of this I might have to reconsider my position, Yeshua, calm down; consider what I wrote to Timothy:
17 Let the elders that rule well be counted worthy of double honor, especially those who labor in the word and in teaching. For the scripture saith, Thou shall not muzzle the ox when he treads out the corn. And, The laborer is worthy of his hire. (1 Tim.5.17,18)
He again actually has the audacity to quote from Deuteronomy chapter 25, the very Torah of the Jews! The very LAW. What Bible are you reading from, Paul? I am reading from your Bible, Yeshua; go on...
Then, to add insult to injury, you actually compliment Timothy for reading that old outmoded stuff:
15 And that from a babe thou hast known the sacred writings which are able to make thee wise unto salvation through faith which is in Christ Jesus. Every scripture inspired of God is also profitable for teaching, for reproof, for correction, for instruction which is in righteousness. That the man of God may be complete, furnished completely unto every good work. (2 Tim.3.15-17)
Paul, you can't mean that the Old Testament is INSPIRED, can you? You cannot mean that it is profitable for us, can you?! Do you really mean that if we do those things contained in the Old Testament can make us RIGHTEOUS in God's eyes?! Now can you say that they are able to make us COMPLETE in every good work? Paul, everybody knows we cannot be justified by those works of the Old Testament you refer to at least that is what everybody says, according to this guy Dan I am quoting from off the Internet, and as any radio preacher will tell you maybe you should listen to some of these television preachers, or if you have plenty of U.S. dollars, send and get their tapes, and books, and videos; maybe you should go off to their schools to get yourself straightened out; there are some really good preachers on short wave and even AM radio who will confirm all that Dan says that the Old Testament has been done away, and that the Sabbath, the Seventh Day Sabbath has been done away; Paul, and I will say it as kindly as I can, you need help! You just don't jib with the rest.
Yeshua, again you are very funny, but what I have written is indeed inspired of God.
But now, we have to confront yet another one of these New Testament writers who is badly mistaken, even Peter, as he says,
1 Putting away therefore all wickedness, and all guile, and hypocrisies, and envies, and all evil speakings, as newborn babes, long for the spiritual milk which is without guile, that ye may grow thereby unto salvation; if ye have tasted that the Lord is gracious: unto whom coming, a living stone, rejected indeed of men, but with God elect, precious, ye also, as living stones, are built up a spiritual house, to be a holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptable to God through Jesus Christ. Because it is contained in scripture,
Behold, I lay in Zion a chief corner stone, elect, precious:
And he that believeth on him shall not be put to shame.
For you therefore that believe is the preciousness: but for such as disbelieve,
The stone which the builders rejected,
The same was made the head of the corner;
and,
A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offence;
(1 Pet.2.1-8)
This is going too far Peter, even though you were appointed by Jesus to be an Apostle, and even though he gave him the keys to the Kingdom, how can we trust you when you quote from the book of Isaiah, a prophet of the Old Testament?
Yeshua, understand that I am also an inspired writer of the New Testament; you accept it, but many do not.
Now, all joshing aside, we have it established that the Old Testament is still in effect so that it does NOT need to be reinstated?!
Second argument
Now, the second argument this guy Dan gives comes here, as they quote this:
1 Let us fear therefore, lest haply, a promise being left of entering into his rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it. For indeed we have had good tidings preached unto us, even as also they: but the word of hearing did not profit them, because it was not united by faith with them that heard. For we who have believed do enter into that rest; even as he hath said,
As I sware in my wrath,
They shall not enter into my rest:
although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he hath said somewhere of the seventh day on this wise, And God rested on the seventh day from all his works; and in this place again,
They shall not enter into my rest.
Seeing therefore it remaineth that some should enter thereinto, and they to whom the good tidings were before preached failed to enter in because of disobedience, he again defineth a certain day, Today, saying in David so long a time afterward (even as hath been said before),
Today if ye shall hear his voice,
Harden not your hearts.
For if Joshua had given them rest, he would not have spoken afterward of another day. There remains therefore a sabbath rest for the people of God. For he that is entered into his rest hath himself also rested from his works, as God did from his. Let us therefore give diligence to enter into that rest, that no man fall after the same example of disobedience. (Heb.4.1-9)
The argument is, that this passage mentions only a Sabbath rest, but not keeping the Seventh day Sabbath; of course it does not; this is speaking of those who are laboring to enter into that rest whereof he speaks; it is the KINGDOM OF GOD for which we labor to enter in; Paul is not speaking of the seventh day of the week, but of our resting after that we have accomplished the work God has set before us as Peter said,
10 And the God of all grace, who called you unto his eternal glory in Christ, after that ye have suffered a little while, shall himself perfect, establish, strengthen you. (1 Pet.5.10)
We are striving to enter into the Kingdom of God, which we will do after we have accomplished the work of obeying the Word of God. What Paul speaks of is our resting after our work has been accomplished as God rested from His.
Then they go on to try to convince you that the Christian Sabbath rest is spiritual as here:
28 Come unto me, all ye that labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden is light. (Mt.11.28)
Would somebody tell me what this has to do with keeping the Sabbath!? NOTHING; they want you to think the Christian Sabbath is nothing but spiritual so they do not have to deal with the fourth Commandment.
They want to continually try to convince you that God gave the Ten Commandments just to Israel, but reinstated nine of them for us, but again, consider this:
16 And behold, one came to him and said, Teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have eternal life? And he said unto him, Why ask thou me concerning that which is good? One there is who is good: but if thou would enter into life, keep the commandments. He saith unto him, Which? And Jesus said, Thou shall not kill, Thou shall not commit adultery, Thou shall not steal, Thou shall not bear false witness, Honor thy father and mother; and, Thou shall love thy neighbor as thyself. (Mt.19.16-19)
So, if you want to reinstate some of the Ten Commandments, here you are Jesus names some of them but of course, according to Dan, Jesus did not mention the 4th commandment but, you see, NONE of the first four commandments are specifically named in the New Testament does that mean we can have more than one god in our life, or that we can make graven images according to our likeness, or use the name of the Lord our God vainly? Of course not well, WHY? Well, you see, the others can be found since the intent of each commandment is clearly seen in the teaching of the New Testament; there is no question about that, but to say that the Sabbath was not reinstated and thus we are not obliged to keep it is stupid and ignorant.
We do have several instances where it was obvious that Jesus and his disciples kept the Sabbath, as here from Lk.23.50ff:
50 And behold, a man named Joseph, who was a councillor, a good and righteous man (he had not consented to their counsel and deed), a man of Arimathaea, a city of the Jews, who was looking for the kingdom of God: this man went to Pilate, and asked for the body of Jesus. And he took it down, and wrapped it in a linen cloth, and laid him in a tomb that was hewn in stone, where never man had yet lain. And it was the day of the Preparation, and the sabbath drew on. And the women, who had come with him out of Galilee, followed after, and beheld the tomb, and how his body was laid. And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments. And on the sabbath they rested according to the commandment.
It cannot be denied that these were disciples of Jesus, and it would be incredulous to say that Jesus had not taught them to keep the seventh day Sabbath fact is, he did not have to TEACH them to keep it; it was part of their culture their whole life was keeping the Sabbath on the seventh day and Jesus did not say, Well, folks; why don't we start keeping our Sabbath on the first day of the week; I don't think the Father would mind even though the Scripture says, that He rested on the seventh day of the week; such is the argument of these whom we quote.
Then, here is a continuance of the event which took place when the women followed them that buried Jesus in Lk.23:
1 And when the sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, bought spices, that they might come and anoint him. And very early on the first day of the week, they come to the tomb when the sun was risen. (Mk.16.1,2)
Now, I don't think I am going to have to explain to you how that this was AFTER the seventh day, which we know as the Sabbath; these disciples Mary Magdalene and the Mary the mother of James, I think they would have been obedient to the truth above all things.
Then Dan tries to apply the Sabbath just to Israel as he quotes Deu.5.15, how that God gave the Sabbath as a memorial, for bringing them out of the land of Egypt but the problem is, Israel REJECTED the Ten Commandments at the first (Exo.20.18,19; cf. Heb.12.19,20,25), but in the second, He wrote them on two tables of stone and FORCED them upon Israel, hence they were written in stone, which leads us to the study of the New Covenant (Jer.31.31ff) whereas God would make a New Covenant whereby He would write His laws in our hearts, rather than on stone and to try to continue the argument that God had in mind just nine commandments, and that He would excluded the Sabbath, is again ludicrous; but in the first case, God says,
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shall thou labor, and do all thy work; but the seventh day is a sabbath unto Jehovah thy God: in it thou shall not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man-servant, nor thy maid-servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days Jehovah made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore Jehovah blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it. (Exo.20.8-11)
Here there is no mention that is a memorial just to Israel.
However, it cannot be gainsaid that we are COMMANDED to keep the Ten Commandments as were first given to Israel, as was spoken to them from out of the midst of the fire and smoke, as Paul says,
18 For ye are not come unto the mount that might be touched, and that burned with fire, nor unto blackness, and darkness, and tempest, And the sound of a trumpet, and the voice of words; which voice they that heard entreated that the word should not be spoken to them any more: (For they could not endure that which was commanded,..See that ye refuse not him that speaks. For if they escaped not who refused him that spake on earth, much more shall not we escape, if we turn away from him that speaketh from heaven: Whose voice then shook the earth. (Heb.12.18-20, 25,26)
Need we say any more?! He is referring to Israel standing there before the mountain, listening to God's voice as He gives them the TEN COMMANDMENTS, which included the seventh day Sabbath that they promptly rejected, whereas they perished in the wilderness.
I should let the foregoing suffice, but he misuses some other Scriptures, and because you do not understand those texts, I will continue.
He next quotes from some Bible I am not familiar with that says this:
The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested. (Exo.31.16,17)
Now, let's go to the King James:
14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant. 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. And he gave unto Moses, when he had made an end of communing with him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God. (Exo.31.14-18)
And, of course, God reiterates that they were written on two tables of stone, whereas Paul says,
3 Forasmuch as ye are manifestly declared to be the epistle of Christ ministered by us, written not with ink, but with the Spirit of the living God; not in tables of stone, but in fleshy tables of the heart. And such trust have we through Christ to God-ward: Not that we are sufficient of ourselves to think any thing as of ourselves; but our sufficiency is of God; Who also hath made us able ministers of the new testament; not of the letter, but of the spirit: for the letter killeth, but the spirit giveth life. But if the ministration of death, written and engraven in stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not stedfastly behold the face of Moses for the glory of his countenance; which glory was to be done away: How shall not the ministration of the spirit be rather glorious? For if the ministration of condemnation be glory, much more doth the ministration of righteousness exceed in glory. For even that which was made glorious had no glory in this respect, by reason of the glory that excelleth. For if that which is done away was glorious, much more that which remaineth is glorious. (2 Cor.3.3-11)
He did not do away with the law written on stone, but would have it written on our hearts, but in the version Dan uses, it talks about Israelites, trying to prescribe the commandments just to Israel.
But now comes another misuse of Scripture; here:
1 Him that is weak in the faith receive ye, but not to doubtful disputations. For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eats herbs. Let not him that eats despise him that eats not; and let not him which eats not judge him that eats: for God hath received him. Who art thou that judges another mans servant? to his own master he stands or falls. Yea, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. One man esteems one day above another: another esteems every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. He that regards the day, regards it unto the Lord; and he that regards not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it. He that eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he that eats not, to the Lord he eats not, and gives God thanks... (Rom.14.1-6)
See: if you leave his statement in context, it comes out much different, for here Paul is speaking of us being very careful about another persons conscience in whatever we do, in our eating, drinking, and the days we observe. If you live in a Jewish neighborhood, you WILL observe their high days for their conscience sake, as Paul says,
19 For though I be free from all men, yet have I made myself servant unto all, that I might gain the more. And unto the Jews I became as a Jew, that I might gain the Jews; to them that are under the law, as under the law, that I might gain them that are under the law; To them that are without law, as without law, (being not without law to God, but under the law to Christ,) that I might gain them that are without law. To the weak became I as weak, that I might gain the weak: I am made all things to all men, that I might by all means save some. And this I do for the gospels sake, that I might be partaker thereof with you. (1 Cor.9.19-23)
See, this is easy if you know how, but Dan plays on the ignorance (not to mention his own) of those who do not know the Scriptures; he wants to tell you that it is up to you whether you want to obey the 4th Commandment or not but this text has nothing to do with keeping the Sabbath.
Then Dan goes to Col.3.16,17:
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..
Of course, again he plays on your ignorance but it is just as we read, that we should not let anyone find fault with us with respect to those things Moses commanded Israel, for their conscience sake. If you live in a Jewish neighborhood, this will be difficult; if you work where there are Jews even Jews who do not keep the Sabbath or the high days, you will because you do not want to embolden them to disobey that which God commanded Moses to lay upon them.
But there is more; Dan goes on to try to say that when the Apostles met in Acts 15 to refute a lie being perpetrated upon the people, that they had to be circumcised to be saved, that they did not mention the Sabbath; but I can make the same assertion that to reestablish the keeping of the Sabbath was not necessary since ALL UNDERSTOOD that it was a commandment to be kept without question; to remind them that they must keep the Sabbath would have been superfluous.
Then Dan tries to show that Jesus disregarded the Sabbath in John 5.7-11 because he had the lame man that was healed to take up his mat, but cleaning up after himself was not breaking the Sabbath, but was breaking one of their traditions, but it was not only that he had the man take up the mat upon which he had lain, but that he healed on the Sabbath, so that Jesus went on to infuriate them by saying,
15 The man went away, and told the Jews that it was Jesus who had made him whole. And for this cause the Jews persecuted Jesus, because he did these things on the sabbath. But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh even until now, and I work. For this cause therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him. (Jn.5.15-18)
as here:
9 And he departed thence, and went into their synagogue: and behold, a man having a withered hand. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath day? that they might accuse him. And he said unto them, What man shall there be of you, that shall have one sheep, and if this fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? How much then is a man of more value than a sheep! Wherefore it is lawful to do good on the sabbath day. Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thy hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, as the other But the Pharisees went out, and took counsel against him, how they might destroy him. (Mt.12.9-13)
Then Dan goes on to try to make the case that the law forbids that a person, as he puts it, Be careful not to carry a load on the Sabbath, quoting from Jer.17.21-24 which says in the King James,
21 Thus saith the LORD; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction. And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently hearken unto me, saith the LORD, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the sabbath day, but hallow the sabbath day, to do no work therein..
But what Dan overlooks is the INTENT of the command: here:
19 And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day. So the merchants and sellers of all kind of ware lodged without Jerusalem once or twice. Then I testified against them, and said unto them, Why lodge ye about the wall? if ye do so again, I will lay hands on you. From that time forth came they no more on the sabbath. And I commanded the Levites that they should cleanse themselves, and that they should come and keep the gates, to sanctify the sabbath day. Remember me, O my God, concerning this also, and spare me according to the greatness of thy mercy. (Neh.13.19-22)
The whole point of the statute was that they should not bear burdens into the city to buy and sell on the Sabbath, but as so many of the traditions of the Jews, they go on to enlarge and expand these simple laws to become such a burden in themselves, that they cannot be realistically kept according to Dan who would impose this same stupid idea upon us, that if we keep the Sabbath, we could not even carry a Bible to a place of study on the Sabbath.
Dan finally gets to lighting a fire on the Sabbath, and as so many tries to make the case that when our furnace comes on during the winter, it is breaking that law, as he quotes this:
1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD hath commanded, that ye should do them. Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever doeth work therein shall be put to death. Ye shall kindle no fire throughout your habitations upon the sabbath day. (Exo.35.1-3)
but, let us compare this text also:
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. And it shall come to pass, that on the sixth day they shall prepare that which they bring in; and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily. (Exo.16.4,5)
The command had to do with COOKING with preparing their meals; they were to prepare their meals on the 6th day twice as much so that they would not do any cooking on the Sabbath,
32 And while the children of Israel were in the wilderness, they found a man that gathered sticks upon the sabbath day. And they that found him gathering sticks brought him unto 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 the LORD said unto Moses, The man shall be surely put to death: all the congregation shall stone him with stones without the camp. (Num.15.32-35)
The man was gathering sticks to kindle a fire to cook on the Sabbath, which does indeed show how seriously God is about us keeping His commandments, but Dan says our furnace coming on breaks this command. I think it is safe to say that Dan does not know what he is talking about.
Finally, Dan points out how that Israel was to offer a burnt offering (Num.28.9,10), which of course is true, but that was in effect only as long as the Tabernacle or the Temple were yet standing. He applies to same all the sacrifices they were commanded to do (see Heb.9), but they ceased to do it a long time before Jesus came and he did not rebuke them for not keeping the law of Moses strictly by the letter of the law, because they could not; they were under Roman control, so what did they do?
Well, the Jews wanted to keep the law, but because there was no way they could keep the commands while in another country or being occupied in their own land, came up with substitutes, things they could do which would satisfy the command in their minds, hence their Talmud came into being a collection of writings by rabbis and sages over the period of 300 years or so, and this they were doing in the days of Jesus, and Jesus even refutes some of those things written in the Talmud (e.g. Mt.5.21ff; 38-45) and even restrains the Law of Moses from being carried out, to put to death a person caught in adultery, by showing that, committing adultery begins in the heart (Mt.5.27ff), and enacts the principle that we should show mercy whereas the Law of Moses showed none.
Dan calls us, Sabbatarians, and Sabbath keepers, as do others, trying to put shame on those who would obey God. He tries to make the point that we will not be thrown into the Lake of Fire, like those who break other laws will be, saying that those who do not keep the Sabbath are not condemned well now, that ain't so; consider:
4 Whosoever commits sin transgresses also the law: for sin is the transgression of the law. (1 Jn.3.4)
What law are we talking about if we are not talking about the Ten Commandments?! Oh, but Yeshua, Dan would argue, we have only nine commandments an argument many would hope to be true, but if we are to obey what Jesus said, as he said over and over (e.g. Jn.14.15ff), why didn't he tell us not to keep the Sabbath as John argues, the fact that he omitted it has to mean something; yes, that is for sure, but as we have seen, there is NO PLACE THAT DOES AWAY WITH THE SABBATH OR ANY OF THE TEN COMMANDMENTS; the whole premise is flawed from the beginning. And I also read this:
23 For the wages of sin is death... (Rom.6.23a)
Sabbath Days Journey
Now, what Dan did not go into was this thing about leaving your place on the Sabbath, as we read here:
29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day. So the people rested on the seventh day. (Exo.16.29,30)
We see them observing this in the NEW TESTAMENT, as here:
Then returned they unto Jerusalem from the mount called Olivet, which is from Jerusalem a sabbath days journey. And when they were come in, they went up into an upper room, where abode both Peter, and James, and John, and Andrew, Philip, and Thomas, Bartholomew, and Matthew, James the son of Alphaeus, and Simon Zelotes, and Judas the brother of James. (Acts 1.10-13)10 And while they looked stedfastly toward heaven as he went up, behold, two men stood by them in white apparel; Which also said, Ye men of Galilee, why stand ye gazing up into heaven? this same Jesus, which is taken up from you into heaven, shall so come in like manner as ye have seen him go into heaven.
This Sabbath days journey was one of those things their Talmud gave them in lieu of obeying the strict command not to leave their place, but the application is very clear: here are Jesus' disciples who had been led out to the Mount of Olives by him. Now what would it matter how far they went if the Sabbath had been done away?
Not only so, but those who say they keep the Sabbath today see nothing the matter with driving to the respective seventh-day churches, then go to the nearest cafeteria to eat, and buy gas to get home; they do not keep the Sabbath by doing so. In Acts 13, Paul and those with him, went out of Philippi on the Sabbath to where there was a place of prayer, but you know he would have not gone farther than a Sabbath days journey, but they did indeed meet to study and pray on the Sabbath.
But Dan sites these two texts, trying to make Sunday his Sabbath:
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. (Acts 20.7)
and,
1 Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. 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. (1 Cor.16.1,2)
Dan tries to make the case that Sunday is the day to worship to meet, but then he does not tell you that they meet EVERY DAY (Acts 2.43-47; 5.41,42), not just on the first of the week.
Summation
What you must conclude from this discussion is that keeping the Sabbath is required if you are to obey God, and God first gave it to Israel to see if they would keep His commandments or not:
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. (Exo.15.4)
And, of course, in this context God instituted the Sabbath. Dan missed this.
But all that has been said will go in one ear and out the other of those who love their ways and have no love for the truth if you have never thought about these things, I hope you will, because God is serious about it.
I invite your comments; if I have not covered all there is, then let me know.