The Sabbath was given to God's children.
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Isaiah 48:22
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Hebrews 4:3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
The Sabbath is a state of being that no one has ever reached it or was unable to stay in it. Being in this state of mind, there is no worries and or any sort of being in a stressful situation like having to not to worry about tomorrow. You'll be able to focus more better because your spirit is fully at rest, because everything has been taken care of. The Israelites were at this state of mind and choose not to focus in on God, but to lean towards evil. When David were going through trouble times, his main focus was God; but when things had calm down, his focus was on Bathsheba. And so God has to stir up the water so that we can stay afloat, instead of sinking to the bottom.
22 “There is no peace,” says the Lord, “for the wicked.”
Hebrews 4:3 Now we who have believed enter that rest, just as God has said, “So I declared on oath in my anger, ‘They shall never enter my rest.’” And yet his works have been finished since the creation of the world.
The Sabbath is a state of being that no one has ever reached it or was unable to stay in it. Being in this state of mind, there is no worries and or any sort of being in a stressful situation like having to not to worry about tomorrow. You'll be able to focus more better because your spirit is fully at rest, because everything has been taken care of. The Israelites were at this state of mind and choose not to focus in on God, but to lean towards evil. When David were going through trouble times, his main focus was God; but when things had calm down, his focus was on Bathsheba. And so God has to stir up the water so that we can stay afloat, instead of sinking to the bottom.
S
Does your Armstrongite still teach the following?
1. The Trinity was a pagan doctrine, formulated by men, and did not describe the
true nature of God. In Armstrong's theology, God the Father and Jesus Christ
were two separate beings, composed of a "substance" called spirit. The Holy
Spirit was the impersonal force that was used to accomplish God's will. God the
Father and Jesus Christ were in the image of a man.. possessing the anatomy of a
human being only composed of a "substance" called spirit. The nature of God was
viewed as a family, that human beings could be born into at the
resurrection...literally being added to the Godhead just like a new child adds
to a human family.
2. The gospel message, in Armstrong's theology, was
primarily about the soon-coming rule of Jesus Christ at his second coming. The
central focus was not on what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. Announcing
this message of the rule of Jesus Christ before the end of man's rule was the
goal of Armstrong's ministry. He believed this message needed to be proclaimed
before Christ would return. He viewed himself as the "Elijah to come" in the Old
Testament...in a role very similar to John the Baptist, who came as a forerunner
of Jesus Christ at his first coming.
3. Worldwide Church of God was
viewed as the one and only true church of God. Other Christian churches were in
error. All other Christians, while sincere, were not really true Christians and
were not saved. Other Christians were not saved primarily because they don't
keep the Saturday Sabbath, and thus were still in their sin. They could not be
repentant, because they were still breaking the Ten Commandments by not
observing the Saturday Sabbath. In effect, churches such as the Seventh Day
Adventists were also excluded because they didn't believe other elements of
Armstrong's teachings such as keeping the annual festivals of Leviticus 23. The
church's teachings as a whole were called "The Truth" and members quite often
spoke of how they came to a knowledge of "The Truth".. meaning Herbert
Armstrong's teachings.
4. Herbert Armstrong, the leader, was viewed as
being the sole representative of God on Earth. He was called God's apostle. He
was the ultimate authority on what the Bible said, and published many books
which were meant to interpret the Scripture for Christians. He claimed to have
restored true Christianity to the world, which had not been taught since the
early apostolic days. While Armstrong taught to believe only your Bible, in
reality he meant the Bible as interpreted by Herbert Armstrong and Worldwide
Church of God. His hermeneutics included connecting unrelated verses in order to
form doctrines, as he viewed the Bible as a "coded book" that required such a
method to come up with the "right doctrine". Incidentally, his wife claimed to
have a vision from an angel which inaugurated Herbert and herself into the
ministry..it's funny how many aberrant beliefs have some element of angelic
appearances whether in vision or in person, inaugurating them to teach the "true
gospel" which hasn't been taught since the apostles..including the Mormons and
JWs (Gal 1:8).
5. Christians were required to observe elements of the Old
Covenant, including the Seventh Day Sabbath (Saturday), observance of the Holy
Days of Leviticus 23, a tithing system that allocated about 23% of their gross
income before tax to the church or festival observance, and observance of the
clean/unclean meat laws. It was a very works oriented view of salvation composed
of a patchwork quilt of Old Covenant and New Covenant concepts.
6.
Catholic and Protestant churches were formed through an amalgam of Christianity
and pagan customs as the result of an apostasy which occurred after the closing
of the New Testament canon. Customs such as Sunday observance, Christmas, and
Easter begun to be observed by the new apostate church. There was a very strong
anti-Catholic element, particularly because the Catholic church claimed to
change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. Catholicism was viewed as the
whore of Babylon in Revelation, with Protestant churches being viewed as the
daughters of the whore. There was no understanding of the Protestant Reformation
and the concept of imputed righteousness that was the focus of the Reformer's
message.
7. Christians were literally to become members of the God family
upon the resurrection. Their human life and their overcoming of sins is for the
purpose of qualifying them for salvation, and becoming a god being, to rule over
their own planet (this was inferred if not explicitly taught), very similar to
Mormon theology. The Christian was viewed as being given only conditional
eternal life, and their salvation process was described as being analogous to
the impregnation of the human egg cell by the sperm...and this spiritual
pregnancy could be terminated by God at any point prior to the spiritual birth,
which occurs at the resurrection. They denied that this spiritual birth occurs
at conversion.
8. A very complex eschatology (teaching about end time
events) which taught that the 12 tribes of Israel are the ancestors of those who
comprise the Western European peoples, and that events in prophecy can only be
understood in this context.
9. A virtual universal salvation...the view
was that most of mankind is not being called to salvation now...the Church is
being called to salvation and being judged by God. The rest are spiritually
blinded and won't be given an opportunity for salvation until a future
resurrection after the Millennium, when they will be given an opportunity for
salvation without Satan's influence.
10. A system of 3 resurrections. The
first resurrection is the resurrection of the righteous at Christ's return. The
second resurrection is the resurrection of the unsaved unevangelized, which is
the group in point 6. The third resurrection is the resurrection to eternal
punishment, to be thrown into the lake of fire.
11. Soul sleep; that
those who die are in a state of sleep until they are resurrected. There is no
consciousness between death and the resurrection for anyone.
12. Eternal
punishment involved annihilationism,and not eternal suffering in hell...being
thrown in the lake of fire.
13. Taught a healing doctrine that basically
discouraged seeking medical treatment and condemned it as a lack of faith.
Healing was viewed as part and parcel of Christ's sacrifice. The sad thing about
this is that when it was taught, my understanding is that church leadership
sought medical care but many of the membership did not, because they believed it
was God's will. A friend of my family was attending Ambassador College, the
church's university, at the time and was disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the
church's leadership seeking medical treatment while the membership was
encouraged not to.
14. Viewed the rich as being spiritually superior to
the poor...most of the deacons and elders were individuals who were fairly
successful in their vocational careers. Undoubtedly this condescending view of
the poor was related to Armstrong's mentality regarding material
wealth.
15. Denied the bodily resurrection, instead teaching a spiritual
resurrection much like the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. Jesus Christ does not have
a physical resurrection body, in their theology.
16. Practiced strict
rules regarding church discipline. For example, if a member questioned a point
of doctrine, or a church leader's decision, he could face being
disfellowshipped. Since the church taught that it was the sole representative of
God on earth, and salvation was tied to church attendance, being
disfellowshipped was the same as losing one's salvation. This made it easy for
them to control the membership and to enforce total uniformity within the
church.
17. Taught that the role of the membership was to "pray and pay".
Evangelizing to unbelievers was the primary job of Herbert Armstrong, and was
done through his television program, church literature, and visits to world
leaders, at great expense to the church's membership. The normal church member
didn't evangelize to others, and was not viewed as qualified to do
such.
18. Church services were by ministerial invitation only....and
usually those who were invited to church services were indoctrinated by church
literature prior to attending the church services. Those individuals were called
PMs (potential members). The local pastor met with these individuals privately
before allowing them to come to services. They were questioned to assess their
knowledge of church teachings, and then allowed to attend if the minister
thought God was working with them. By then, it was likely that these individuals
were keeping the Saturday Sabbath already, at home, or they would not have been
allowed to attend.
19. Baptism was not viewed as a first act of
obedience, and identifying one's self publicly with Christ; it was viewed as a
required ceremony which imparted the Holy Spirit to the believer. Salvation did
not begin until the point of baptism. Baptisms were conducted quite often as a
private event with few other individuals observing. For instance, I was baptized
in someone's basement as part of a group with only a few family members present.
I can remember wondering what would happen between the time I was approved for
baptism and the actual event; if I died in an accident or something would I
still be saved?
20. De-emphasized the grace of God. If you had asked a
church member for a definition of grace, I doubt you could have obtained one
from them. Grace was discussed basically only in the context of grace versus
works or keeping the commandments...as if these two concepts are opposites. The
caricature of traditional Christianity was that they don't believe obedience is
part of the Christian life, and that other Christians are using the concept of
grace to cover up sin and disobedience. There was no understanding of the
concept of imputed righteousness, and no understanding that obedience is a fruit
of true faith, rather than being the cause of it. At the very least, it was
"grace plus" and never faith alone, grace alone, in Jesus Christ alone, unto
good works for the glory of God.
1. The Trinity was a pagan doctrine, formulated by men, and did not describe the
true nature of God. In Armstrong's theology, God the Father and Jesus Christ
were two separate beings, composed of a "substance" called spirit. The Holy
Spirit was the impersonal force that was used to accomplish God's will. God the
Father and Jesus Christ were in the image of a man.. possessing the anatomy of a
human being only composed of a "substance" called spirit. The nature of God was
viewed as a family, that human beings could be born into at the
resurrection...literally being added to the Godhead just like a new child adds
to a human family.
2. The gospel message, in Armstrong's theology, was
primarily about the soon-coming rule of Jesus Christ at his second coming. The
central focus was not on what Jesus Christ accomplished on the cross. Announcing
this message of the rule of Jesus Christ before the end of man's rule was the
goal of Armstrong's ministry. He believed this message needed to be proclaimed
before Christ would return. He viewed himself as the "Elijah to come" in the Old
Testament...in a role very similar to John the Baptist, who came as a forerunner
of Jesus Christ at his first coming.
3. Worldwide Church of God was
viewed as the one and only true church of God. Other Christian churches were in
error. All other Christians, while sincere, were not really true Christians and
were not saved. Other Christians were not saved primarily because they don't
keep the Saturday Sabbath, and thus were still in their sin. They could not be
repentant, because they were still breaking the Ten Commandments by not
observing the Saturday Sabbath. In effect, churches such as the Seventh Day
Adventists were also excluded because they didn't believe other elements of
Armstrong's teachings such as keeping the annual festivals of Leviticus 23. The
church's teachings as a whole were called "The Truth" and members quite often
spoke of how they came to a knowledge of "The Truth".. meaning Herbert
Armstrong's teachings.
4. Herbert Armstrong, the leader, was viewed as
being the sole representative of God on Earth. He was called God's apostle. He
was the ultimate authority on what the Bible said, and published many books
which were meant to interpret the Scripture for Christians. He claimed to have
restored true Christianity to the world, which had not been taught since the
early apostolic days. While Armstrong taught to believe only your Bible, in
reality he meant the Bible as interpreted by Herbert Armstrong and Worldwide
Church of God. His hermeneutics included connecting unrelated verses in order to
form doctrines, as he viewed the Bible as a "coded book" that required such a
method to come up with the "right doctrine". Incidentally, his wife claimed to
have a vision from an angel which inaugurated Herbert and herself into the
ministry..it's funny how many aberrant beliefs have some element of angelic
appearances whether in vision or in person, inaugurating them to teach the "true
gospel" which hasn't been taught since the apostles..including the Mormons and
JWs (Gal 1:8).
5. Christians were required to observe elements of the Old
Covenant, including the Seventh Day Sabbath (Saturday), observance of the Holy
Days of Leviticus 23, a tithing system that allocated about 23% of their gross
income before tax to the church or festival observance, and observance of the
clean/unclean meat laws. It was a very works oriented view of salvation composed
of a patchwork quilt of Old Covenant and New Covenant concepts.
6.
Catholic and Protestant churches were formed through an amalgam of Christianity
and pagan customs as the result of an apostasy which occurred after the closing
of the New Testament canon. Customs such as Sunday observance, Christmas, and
Easter begun to be observed by the new apostate church. There was a very strong
anti-Catholic element, particularly because the Catholic church claimed to
change the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday. Catholicism was viewed as the
whore of Babylon in Revelation, with Protestant churches being viewed as the
daughters of the whore. There was no understanding of the Protestant Reformation
and the concept of imputed righteousness that was the focus of the Reformer's
message.
7. Christians were literally to become members of the God family
upon the resurrection. Their human life and their overcoming of sins is for the
purpose of qualifying them for salvation, and becoming a god being, to rule over
their own planet (this was inferred if not explicitly taught), very similar to
Mormon theology. The Christian was viewed as being given only conditional
eternal life, and their salvation process was described as being analogous to
the impregnation of the human egg cell by the sperm...and this spiritual
pregnancy could be terminated by God at any point prior to the spiritual birth,
which occurs at the resurrection. They denied that this spiritual birth occurs
at conversion.
8. A very complex eschatology (teaching about end time
events) which taught that the 12 tribes of Israel are the ancestors of those who
comprise the Western European peoples, and that events in prophecy can only be
understood in this context.
9. A virtual universal salvation...the view
was that most of mankind is not being called to salvation now...the Church is
being called to salvation and being judged by God. The rest are spiritually
blinded and won't be given an opportunity for salvation until a future
resurrection after the Millennium, when they will be given an opportunity for
salvation without Satan's influence.
10. A system of 3 resurrections. The
first resurrection is the resurrection of the righteous at Christ's return. The
second resurrection is the resurrection of the unsaved unevangelized, which is
the group in point 6. The third resurrection is the resurrection to eternal
punishment, to be thrown into the lake of fire.
11. Soul sleep; that
those who die are in a state of sleep until they are resurrected. There is no
consciousness between death and the resurrection for anyone.
12. Eternal
punishment involved annihilationism,and not eternal suffering in hell...being
thrown in the lake of fire.
13. Taught a healing doctrine that basically
discouraged seeking medical treatment and condemned it as a lack of faith.
Healing was viewed as part and parcel of Christ's sacrifice. The sad thing about
this is that when it was taught, my understanding is that church leadership
sought medical care but many of the membership did not, because they believed it
was God's will. A friend of my family was attending Ambassador College, the
church's university, at the time and was disillusioned by the hypocrisy of the
church's leadership seeking medical treatment while the membership was
encouraged not to.
14. Viewed the rich as being spiritually superior to
the poor...most of the deacons and elders were individuals who were fairly
successful in their vocational careers. Undoubtedly this condescending view of
the poor was related to Armstrong's mentality regarding material
wealth.
15. Denied the bodily resurrection, instead teaching a spiritual
resurrection much like the Jehovah's Witnesses teach. Jesus Christ does not have
a physical resurrection body, in their theology.
16. Practiced strict
rules regarding church discipline. For example, if a member questioned a point
of doctrine, or a church leader's decision, he could face being
disfellowshipped. Since the church taught that it was the sole representative of
God on earth, and salvation was tied to church attendance, being
disfellowshipped was the same as losing one's salvation. This made it easy for
them to control the membership and to enforce total uniformity within the
church.
17. Taught that the role of the membership was to "pray and pay".
Evangelizing to unbelievers was the primary job of Herbert Armstrong, and was
done through his television program, church literature, and visits to world
leaders, at great expense to the church's membership. The normal church member
didn't evangelize to others, and was not viewed as qualified to do
such.
18. Church services were by ministerial invitation only....and
usually those who were invited to church services were indoctrinated by church
literature prior to attending the church services. Those individuals were called
PMs (potential members). The local pastor met with these individuals privately
before allowing them to come to services. They were questioned to assess their
knowledge of church teachings, and then allowed to attend if the minister
thought God was working with them. By then, it was likely that these individuals
were keeping the Saturday Sabbath already, at home, or they would not have been
allowed to attend.
19. Baptism was not viewed as a first act of
obedience, and identifying one's self publicly with Christ; it was viewed as a
required ceremony which imparted the Holy Spirit to the believer. Salvation did
not begin until the point of baptism. Baptisms were conducted quite often as a
private event with few other individuals observing. For instance, I was baptized
in someone's basement as part of a group with only a few family members present.
I can remember wondering what would happen between the time I was approved for
baptism and the actual event; if I died in an accident or something would I
still be saved?
20. De-emphasized the grace of God. If you had asked a
church member for a definition of grace, I doubt you could have obtained one
from them. Grace was discussed basically only in the context of grace versus
works or keeping the commandments...as if these two concepts are opposites. The
caricature of traditional Christianity was that they don't believe obedience is
part of the Christian life, and that other Christians are using the concept of
grace to cover up sin and disobedience. There was no understanding of the
concept of imputed righteousness, and no understanding that obedience is a fruit
of true faith, rather than being the cause of it. At the very least, it was
"grace plus" and never faith alone, grace alone, in Jesus Christ alone, unto
good works for the glory of God.
S
The Ten Commandments are a summary of the Old Covenant
Exodus 34:28 “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the word of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 31:18 “And he gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Deut 4:13 “And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone”.
Deut 9:9 “When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you.”
Deut 9:11 “And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.”
The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and Israel, not God and Christians
Ex 31:12-17 And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.”
The Old Covenant is no longer in effect for ANYONE
Heb 8:13-9:4 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table, and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterwards, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
Gal 3:24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith
Gal 3:25 But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a guardian
2 Cor 3:4-18 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even much more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The Sabbath, as part of the Old Covenant, is not in affect for ANYONE
Gal 4:10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Rom 14:5-6 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Col 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ
Jesus is our Sabbath or spiritual rest, and we enter into that spiritual rest by placing our faith in Him
Matt 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and lean from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Heb 4:1-8 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter my rest. “ although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”. Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today”, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had not given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from is works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Christians are under the New Covenant, which has much higher demands and different commandments
Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Heb 9:15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Jn 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Jn 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Jn 15:17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
I am a former Sabbathkeeper due to my association as a new believer with Worldwide Church of God (now called Grace Communion International). Worldwide Church of God came to realize in 1995 that Christians are under the New Covenant, and not the Old Covenant, and the Sabbath does not apply to Christians under the New Covenant. It was a sign of the Old Covenant (like baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of the New Covenant), and is not a moral absolute like Sabbathkeepers claim. Sabbathkeeping doctrine invariably takes the focus off the true gospel, which is about Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through faith in Him (Eph 2:8-9). As a Sabbathkeeper, I rarely heard messages about God’s grace and love; the message of such organizations invariably focuses on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ was also placed on the backburner and was not the focus of their teaching. If you would like good sources of information in regards to the Sabbath check out Grace Communion International’s website at https://www.gci.org/law I now attend an Evangelical Free church that focuses on Jesus Christ and salvation through Him, which is the true gospel.
Exodus 34:28 “So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the word of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.
Exodus 31:18 “And he gave to Moses when he had finished speaking with him on Mount Sinai, the two tablets of the testimony, tablets of stone, written with the finger of God.
Deut 4:13 “And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone”.
Deut 9:9 “When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the Lord made with you.”
Deut 9:11 “And at the end of forty days and forty nights the Lord gave me the two tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant.”
The Old Covenant was an agreement between God and Israel, not God and Christians
Ex 31:12-17 And the Lord said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the Lord, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death. Therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations, as a covenant forever. It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.”
The Old Covenant is no longer in effect for ANYONE
Heb 8:13-9:4 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away. Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. For a tent was prepared, the first section, in which were the lampstand and the table, and the bread of the Presence. It is called the Holy Place. Behind the second curtain was a second section called the Most Holy Place, having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant.
Gal 3:17 This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterwards, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void.
Gal 3:19 Why then the law? It was added because of transgressions, until the offspring should come to whom the promise had been made, and it was put in place through angels by an intermediary.
Gal 3:24 So the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith
Gal 3:25 But now that faith is come, we are no longer under a guardian
2 Cor 3:4-18 Such is the confidence that we have through Christ toward God. Not that we are sufficient in ourselves to claim anything as coming from us, but our sufficiency is from God, who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. Now if the ministry of death, carved in letters on stone, came with such glory that the Israelites could not gaze at Moses’ face because of its glory, which was being brought to an end, will not the ministry of the Spirit have even much more glory? For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory. Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory. Since we have such a hope, we are very bold, not like Moses, who would put a veil over his face so that the Israelites might not gaze at the outcome of what was being brought to an end. But their minds were hardened. For to this day, when they read the old covenant, that same veil remains unlifted, because only through Christ is it taken away. Yes, to this day whenever Moses is read a veil lies over their hearts. But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.
The Sabbath, as part of the Old Covenant, is not in affect for ANYONE
Gal 4:10 You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.
Rom 14:5-6 One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.
Col 2:16-17 Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ
Jesus is our Sabbath or spiritual rest, and we enter into that spiritual rest by placing our faith in Him
Matt 11:28-30 Come to me, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you, and lean from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls.
Heb 4:1-8 Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear lest any of you should seem to have failed to reach it. For good news came to us just as to them, but the message they heard did not benefit them, because they were not united by faith with those who listened. For we who have believed enter that rest, as he has said, “As I swore in my wrath, They shall not enter my rest. “ although his works were finished from the foundation of the world. For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all his works.” And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest.”. Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience, again he appoints a certain day, “Today”, saying through David so long afterward, in the words already quoted. “Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden your hearts.” For if Joshua had not given them rest, God would not have spoken of another day later on. So then there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God, for whoever has entered God’s rest has also rested from is works as God did from his. Let us therefore strive to enter that rest, so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.
Christians are under the New Covenant, which has much higher demands and different commandments
Luke 22:20 And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”
Heb 9:15 Therefore, he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant.
Jn 13:34 A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another.
Jn 15:12 This is my commandment, that you love one another as I have loved you.
Jn 15:17 These things I command you, so that you will love one another
Rom 13:10 Love does no wrong to a neighbor; therefore love is the fulfilling of the law.
I am a former Sabbathkeeper due to my association as a new believer with Worldwide Church of God (now called Grace Communion International). Worldwide Church of God came to realize in 1995 that Christians are under the New Covenant, and not the Old Covenant, and the Sabbath does not apply to Christians under the New Covenant. It was a sign of the Old Covenant (like baptism and the Lord’s Supper are signs of the New Covenant), and is not a moral absolute like Sabbathkeepers claim. Sabbathkeeping doctrine invariably takes the focus off the true gospel, which is about Jesus Christ and salvation by grace through faith in Him (Eph 2:8-9). As a Sabbathkeeper, I rarely heard messages about God’s grace and love; the message of such organizations invariably focuses on the Sabbath. Jesus Christ was also placed on the backburner and was not the focus of their teaching. If you would like good sources of information in regards to the Sabbath check out Grace Communion International’s website at https://www.gci.org/law I now attend an Evangelical Free church that focuses on Jesus Christ and salvation through Him, which is the true gospel.
Really....?......so what is the intent of your point that people are how they are or that the day of the sabbath is irrelevant?.....
Because if you are trying to sustain irrelevance you would be fatally mistaken and incomprehensive of ...
1. Daniel
2. Revelation
3. The Mark of The Beast
4. The Seal and Sign of The Lord
5.
If you are reliant in that statement then explain what the Mark of authority of The Beast is ?
Because if you are trying to sustain irrelevance you would be fatally mistaken and incomprehensive of ...
1. Daniel
2. Revelation
3. The Mark of The Beast
4. The Seal and Sign of The Lord
5.
If you are reliant in that statement then explain what the Mark of authority of The Beast is ?
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You divide for sure not one dot or tittle correctly....malicious destruction of the Sabbath by you attempts to make Gods word of none effect and you put a lot of effort into seperation of the testaments when there is no separation .
Without the OT the Gospels that are reliant on them fall apart and you can not interpret Revelation without Daniel you confound with babel that holds no water and can not explain The Mark of the Beast or 2500 yrs of Historical record....you best learn who thought to change the Law and the Times or the testament you rely upon you can not explain because you render it of none effect.
Without the OT the Gospels that are reliant on them fall apart and you can not interpret Revelation without Daniel you confound with babel that holds no water and can not explain The Mark of the Beast or 2500 yrs of Historical record....you best learn who thought to change the Law and the Times or the testament you rely upon you can not explain because you render it of none effect.
Many here use Paul's exhortations to prove his or her stance on the Sabbath, yet they ignore the very same when they do not permit all in Jesus Christ, Yeshua, to honor whatever day as long as they do it with a good conscience in the sight of our Father.
I believe we are to obey our Father in heaven at least more than we have obeyed our parents in this age……...
Many, most, confuse obeying our Fathe with being under the law. Until they understand teh difference they will be wanting in their individual walks with Jesus.
I believe we are to obey our Father in heaven at least more than we have obeyed our parents in this age……...
Many, most, confuse obeying our Fathe with being under the law. Until they understand teh difference they will be wanting in their individual walks with Jesus.
A few years ago, I took an 8-day guided tour of Israel. We arrived at a marvelous hotel right by the Dead Sea on Friday afternoon a couple of hours before the Jewish Sabbath would begin. I didn't think much about that until I decided to go down to the basement restaurant for dinner. I was staying on about the 28th floor. I got in the elevator and pushed the basement button, but it didn't work! After a couple of minutes it automatically descended to the 27th floor and stopped. But no one had pushed the button, and so, no one got on! After a couple of minutes, the door closed and I descended to the 26th floor. Once again, no one got on and the elevator waited for no reason for a couple of minutes! This happened on every floor all the way down. Eventually we reached a floor where a couple of other tourists got on. It seemed like an hour before we got to the basement floor. At first I was annoyed by these tedious delays, but then it hit me--this was the Sabbath and the Jews considered pushing an elevator button as doing work on the Sabbath! So the elevator was put on automatic to stop on every floor. Sheesh! When I finally got the basement restaurant, there was a long buffet with all kinds of meats and other foods. So like a fool, I searched for sausage, bacon, ham, or pork chops among the buffet items. Then it dawned on me. Israelis don't compromise on their Sabbath laws for naïve demanding Gentile tourists! I giggled at how slowly this realization dawned on me!
When our tour bus finally left the Dead Sea area the next morning for Jerusalem, it was of course still the Sabbath. As we drove by a Jerusalem suburb, I was amazed to see hundred so people walking, apparently long distances to synagogue service. No cars anywhere in sight in that suburb. Thank goodness our bypass road was available for us tourists. Many conservative Jews consider driving a car ib the Sabbath to be work. I wondered where the various lines were drawn among various religious Jews on what was and was not deemed to be working on the Sabbath.
When our tour bus finally left the Dead Sea area the next morning for Jerusalem, it was of course still the Sabbath. As we drove by a Jerusalem suburb, I was amazed to see hundred so people walking, apparently long distances to synagogue service. No cars anywhere in sight in that suburb. Thank goodness our bypass road was available for us tourists. Many conservative Jews consider driving a car ib the Sabbath to be work. I wondered where the various lines were drawn among various religious Jews on what was and was not deemed to be working on the Sabbath.
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I miss RachelBibleStudent.
She was really good.
I miss iamsoandso too. Haven't seen him around in awhile.
All the Judaizers and legalists I don't really miss that much. Except Laodicea and gotime. They were SDA's but they were really polite, even when I was super sarcastic and harsh with them. I always tried to be a little less sarcastic and harsh with them because they seemed so nice. But still get the point across.
She was really good.
I miss iamsoandso too. Haven't seen him around in awhile.
All the Judaizers and legalists I don't really miss that much. Except Laodicea and gotime. They were SDA's but they were really polite, even when I was super sarcastic and harsh with them. I always tried to be a little less sarcastic and harsh with them because they seemed so nice. But still get the point across.
