I just "walked away" from my job as well (you may know this)
I am going to China - I worked there since 1989 - 15 years
and about 6 month - beat you by a little bit.
You sound like a 7th day.
I believe the "Sabbath day" was changed when Constantine
"legalized" Christianity to suit Roman culture.
They all took SUNday off and it suited.
I have hear all the scriptures that supposedly show
that the apostles changed the day - they do not.
Christ rose on the first day - eighth day - day of circumcision
equal day 1 of new week or new covenant etc etc etc.
I will always maintain that you can not be sure your
"position" is correct unless you can actually better
defend your opponent's position than can he :-)
You must know both sides of an argument to be assured of
understanding or assimilating all of or most of the information.
I keep Sunday as the Sabbath without scriptural command to do so.
You will not hear that from many who keep Sunday but you
WILL hear it from me.
The reason - because to keep Saturnday is to minister
confusion to Western Society.
Let me explain - Jesus commanded that we fill six days
with industrious activities - we must WORK
2 Thessalonians 3:10 For even when we were with you,
this we commanded you, If any will not work,
neither let him eat.
I hear all kinds of "holier than thou" people say they keep
every day as a Sabbath unto the Lord - it is crap.
Christians are not to be lazy, even Paul worked while he conducted
the greatest missionary effort I have ever heard of.
In America we seem to have fallen into a "work 5 take 2 off"
mentality while at the same time very few keep the Sabbath
even among Christians.
Many "christians" go to church Sunday morning and then
straight to the restaurant to employ less fortunate to
prepare their food:
Exodus 9:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:
in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son,
nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant,
nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth,
the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day:
wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Saturday seems to have been made a day of rest in days past
to suit the Jewish portion of society who kept Saturday
while Sunday was also a day of rest to suit Christians.
Having 2 days - while enjoyable and helpful for those who
have large yards and lots of trees to prune - is not in
accord with a biblical pattern of 6 days work and 1 day to
seek and worship God Corporately
Now regardless of arguments that suit the idea that we
under the new covenant enter our rest FIRST and then rest
in the work that Christ accomplished from 30 AD to 70 AD
there is still no definitive scriptural proof of such.
In fact quite the opposite appears to be the case for the 40
years that remained for temple worship from the time Christ was
crucified until He returned and judged Israel and destroyed the Temple:
Matthew 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law,
or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
Matthew 10:34 Think not that I am come to send peace on earth:
I came not to send peace, but a sword.
Jesus was no different than the prophets who came before.
He told them that Israel would be judged if she did not repent.
He told a story of those who rented a vineyard and killed
the owner's son - He was that son.
Now Jesus plainly said that not even one jot or tittle would
be destroyed:
18 For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass,
one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law,
till all be fulfilled.
Now MSB - many say that when Jesus said
Till heaven and earth pass,
that He meant the destruction of planet earth.
That would mean that this non-destruction of law remains till now.
That is wrong - the heaven and earth of that verse were figurative
and refer to the Temple heaven = holy of holies - heaven on earth and
the earth = the Jewish court of the temple.
Revelation 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth:
for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away;
and there was no more sea.
"No more sea" the Sea referred to the court of the Gentiles.
this can be found in extant writings of that period that
the Jews referred to these sections as heaven, earth and sea.
The idea that Christ taught the planet would be destroy is foolish
and one must ignore the Old Testament completely to maintain
this universe ending mentality.
Some try make the word fulfil to mean "put an end to"
However to destroy something means to "put an end to"
and Jesus said that would not occur until "heaven and earth"
passed.
However - even 7th day people fail to properly put this statement together.
No 7th day Adventist offers animal sacrifice or follows
Old Covenant law and so in fact many major laws have been
done away with.
The only way around this is to RIGHTLY point out that Israelites
alone were commanded to follow these laws under that covenant.
Problem is that no one insists today that they must continue.
All of the Old Covenant law was "passing away" when Paul wrote
after the crucifixion of Christ and before 70 AD while the temple
was still standing and Christ was entered into the holy of holies
"made without hands" to make final intercession according to
the Temple pattern - being the true "High Priest"
Their salvation was closer than when they first believed:
Romans 13:11 And that, knowing the time, that now it is
high time to awake out of sleep: for now is our salvation
nearer than when we believed.
Their salvation was "nearer" because Christ would declare it
perfected when He returned to judge Israel and destroy the
temple (heaven and earth)
For the Jew - the Old Covenant remained binding - for the Gentile
they entered into the New upon salvation - this is shown because
they did not circumcise Gentiles but continued to do so for Jews.
This overlapping period is the "1000 years" where in the house
was swept and satan bound = however all "hell" broke loose
and the later state worse than the first around 66 1/2 AD
Paul offered sacrifice and had a Jewish man (after his mother's side)
circumcised according to the Old Covenant.
Most people can not explain this so they make what Christ said
to refer to the MORAL LAW only - but that is not what
Christ was being accused of - nor was it what He was referring to.
The distinction between moral law and ceremonial law is added
by men to compensate for their utter failure to understand
Eschatology in the proper light as well as not knowing
the institutions of the Old Covenant that Christ was FULFILLING
Fulfilling can never mean to destroy or abolish until the
new heaven and earth and the heavenly Jerusalem (New Covenant Salvation)
were completed.
One of the strongest arguments that the apostolic church actually
observed the first day is this one:
1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let
every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered
him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
This is tithing and tithing is an act of worship done on the Sabbath.
However I have also hear many arguments against virtually every
verse found within scripture - when men offer me their points
most of the time it is nothing I have not already heard.
I have studied the Sabbath a fair amount.
I concluded that it is not just a personal law but a civil and
National moral law.
The nation should observe the Sabbath - this was done in Canada
until about 25 years ago - when I was a child nothing was
open on Sunday but churches and drug stores.
The drug stores started selling everything from drugs to cigarettes and make-up.
This was used to force people to accept other store to be open
under fair trade arguments.
I have cover quite a few thing very very briefly and I doubt
you will believe anything I said without further consideration
of more proof from scripture on my part - which I can offer
if you are interested at all.
I agree that our understanding of scripture can deepen
but I would stand squarely against those who suggest
that the scriptures can mean different things to different people.
That becomes "personal interpretation" which scripture is not open to.
Got to go - busy like crazy with this move etc.
Brian |
