Are Christians to keep the Sabbath?

[John 8:32]

Yes Daniel's 70 weeks is another topic which you seem to be confused about.

Was Jesus Christ crucified on The Passover. Yes or No.

31 Therefore, because it was the Preparation Day, that the bodies should not remain on the cross on the Sabbath (for that Sabbath was a high day), the Jews asked Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away.

All the human reasoning in the world can not explain away the fact that:

• Jesus was crucified on the Passover!

• The Passover was on Friday for the Sabbath started at 6:00 PM Friday!

No Wednesday or Thursday in the equation period.

Friday before 6:00 PM = Day 1

Saturday before 6:00 PM Day 2

Sunday Day 3. On the third Day He rose!

The clock starts Friday, can't get around that!

All the other passages say three days only.

Matthew 12:40 is the only one to say three nights.

Some say Matthew 12:40 should be rendered Three days and nights..., and that the translators put the word Three in front of nights because that's what they considered at the time.


All I know is Jesus was crucified on the Passover on Friday before the Sabbath!

JLB

Actually, if one counts forward from the decree in Dan 9 for 69 weeks, 483 days, which is 483 years, one comes to 27 AD.

457 BC the decree of Artaxerxes
+ 483 years
=26 AD, now add one for the fact that there is no year zero and we come to 27 AD when Jesus Christ began His ministry.
Now add 3-1/2 years and we come to the spring of 31 AD.
Passover in 31 AD was on Wednesday, the first Day of Unleavened Bread on Thursday. So from Wednesday evening to Saturday evening is exactly three days and three nights as Christ said it would be in Mat 12:40

 

[Grazer]

Dr Gary Habermas suggests that Friday would have been counted as day 1. I can't rememberwhich video its in so I've pasted the series:

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FdvjJrKd1do
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=e1Zy6EPuaKE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=1QMx1jA1puo
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IIPQw6QIgCE
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=aueiKNlQY8o
http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iOmKGFNQAgE

 

[felix]

What you can't get around is the "first day of the week" which is Sunday.

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath,

That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment. Luke 23:54


On the next day, which followed the Day of Preparation, the chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate, 63 saying, "Sir, we remember, while He was still alive, how that deceiver said, 'After three days I will rise.' 64 Therefore command that the tomb be made secure until the third day, lest His disciples come by night and steal Him away, and say to the people, 'He has risen from the dead.' So the last deception will be worse than the first."

Passover = Crucified = Day 1

Next day Sabbath = Day 2 - Day of conversation with Pilate,chief priests and Pharisees gathered together to Pilate.

Day after Sabbath = First Day of the week = Third Day - Day 3





JLB

As I mentioned in #157, I never contracted any Scripture you mentioned. However, if you put Friday to Sunday or in any other way, you cannot give account for 3 days and 3 nights as Jesus told.

There are a few points that cannot be overlooked as they are in Scripture.

• Every Passover feast and sacrifice is followed by Passover Sabbath.
• Jesus rose on the early morning of the first day of the week.
• The previous day of first day of the week is weekly Sabbath.
• Passover Sabbath is not the same as weekly Sabbath.
• The women were able to come to the tomb only on the 3rd day.
• Jesus must have been in the grave/heart of the earth for 3 days and 3 nights.

In no way anyone can explain all the above points from Scripture except if we allow Scripture to interpret and define every word for us.

 

[tim-from-pa]

All the mumbo jumbo in the world does not get around plain clear scripture!

Now when the Sabbath was past, Mary Magdalene, Mary the mother of James, and Salome bought spices, that they might come and anoint Him. 2 Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.

Passover = Friday

Sabbath = Saturday

First day of the week = Sunday

Brother, you couldn't be more wrong!


JLB

No, JLB, what I am saying is not wrong. It seems to me that the issue here is that you insist that the Sabbath has to be the weekly Sabbath, but indeed can be a festival day which was also regarded as a Sabbath. In other words, TWO Sabbaths transpired between the Lord's death and resurrection.

I don't think I'll say any more about this subject right now due to the fact that it really is off-topic, but we always have a detailed conversation every Easter about this issue (you can search the history for pasts posts) and I'm sure it's will come up like clockwork again this year.

I used to believe the same way about Friday, but changed it due to my interest and study of the Hebrew calendar, my astronomical interests, math interests, and also being a gnomonist. In short, understanding time is my bag and I don't take this position very lightly or without serious consideration. I saw it was time to drop the tradition, admit that the day of the week was wrong, and move on. We're all learning. Nothing wrong with that.

 

[Gordon]

I guess when I asked my question I didn't think there would be 19 pages of replies.:eeeekkk I can't even tell what you guys are arguing now. Thanks for the replies to me and sorry I wasn't able to keep up with the thread. I think my brain got a little overloaded. From what I understand no one says its something that must be done just that it possibly should be done. I think I will come back to this issue when I have more appetite for the answer. All the confusion has dampened my enthusiasm. Don't let me stop the debate though.

 

[Grazer]

Where does it say Jesus was buried for 3 days and 3 nights?

 

[felix]

Where does it say Jesus was buried for 3 days and 3 nights?

(Matt 12:40) "For as Jonah was three days and three nights in the belly of the great fish, so will the Son of Man be three days and three nights in the heart of the earth.

 

[John 8:32]

I guess when I asked my question I didn't think there would be 19 pages of replies.:eeeekkk I can't even tell what you guys are arguing now. Thanks for the replies to me and sorry I wasn't able to keep up with the thread. I think my brain got a little overloaded. From what I understand no one says its something that must be done just that it possibly should be done. I think I will come back to this issue when I have more appetite for the answer. All the confusion has dampened my enthusiasm. Don't let me stop the debate though.

In a nutshell, the discussion got to the point of whether the law, which would include the fourth commandment, is done away. If the law is done away, so is the fourth commandment. If the law is still in force, then the fourth commandment is still incumbent on Christians to be observed. That is what the 13 pages of discussion are about.

 

[tim-from-pa]

I guess when I asked my question I didn't think there would be 19 pages of replies.:eeeekkk I can't even tell what you guys are arguing now. Thanks for the replies to me and sorry I wasn't able to keep up with the thread. I think my brain got a little overloaded. From what I understand no one says its something that must be done just that it possibly should be done. I think I will come back to this issue when I have more appetite for the answer. All the confusion has dampened my enthusiasm. Don't let me stop the debate though.

See what you did? View attachment 2632

 

[JLB]

No, JLB, what I am saying is not wrong. It seems to me that the issue here is that you insist that the Sabbath has to be the weekly Sabbath, but indeed can be a festival day which was also regarded as a Sabbath. In other words, TWO Sabbaths transpired between the Lord's death and resurrection.

I don't think I'll say any more about this subject right now due to the fact that it really is off-topic, but we always have a detailed conversation every Easter about this issue (you can search the history for pasts posts) and I'm sure it's will come up like clockwork again this year.

I used to believe the same way about Friday, but changed it due to my interest and study of the Hebrew calendar, my astronomical interests, math interests, and also being a gnomonist. In short, understanding time is my bag and I don't take this position very lightly or without serious consideration. I saw it was time to drop the tradition, admit that the day of the week was wrong, and move on. We're all learning. Nothing wrong with that.

What day is the first day of the week?

What day is the Sabbath?


Please answer.


JLB

 

[JLB]

I guess when I asked my question I didn't think there would be 19 pages of replies.:eeeekkk I can't even tell what you guys are arguing now. Thanks for the replies to me and sorry I wasn't able to keep up with the thread. I think my brain got a little overloaded. From what I understand no one says its something that must be done just that it possibly should be done. I think I will come back to this issue when I have more appetite for the answer. All the confusion has dampened my enthusiasm. Don't let me stop the debate though.

By defining what the Sabbath is and what it is not, would be helpful in answering the original question.

Are Christians to keep the Sabbath?


So I will ask you.

Are Christians to keep the Sabbath associated with Passover?

While we are on this topic.


Thanks, JLB

 

[tim-from-pa]

What day is the first day of the week?

What day is the Sabbath?


Please answer.


JLB

Do you know a synodic month from a draconic month? Please answer.

 

[JLB]

Do you know a synodic month from a draconic month? Please answer.

That's what I thought!

 

[Gordon]

In a nutshell, the discussion got to the point of whether the law, which would include the fourth commandment, is done away. If the law is done away, so is the fourth commandment. If the law is still in force, then the fourth commandment is still incumbent on Christians to be observed. That is what the 13 pages of discussion are about.

Okay thats what I thought and I guess now we are on to what day it's supposed to be. So would you say if I don't observe the Sabbath I should ask God to forgive me? Or would you say it's more like a guideline? I say this because I don't think I can quit my job now for something I'm not convinced of (I see valid arguments from both sides) .And thank you for all you contributed to the discussion.

 

[reba]

2Co 3:3 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.


2Co 3:6 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.

Heb 10:14 For by one offering he hath perfected for ever them that are sanctified.
Heb 10:15 Whereof the Holy Ghost also is a witness to us: for after that he had said before,
Heb 10:16 This is the covenant that I will make with them after those days, saith the Lord, I will put my laws into their hearts, and in their minds will I write them;

 

[Gordon]

I see it's not an intellectual understanding I am going for but a conviction of the Spirit. Some things that stand out to me are is it wrong to do good on a Sabbath? And that the Sabbath was for man and not man for the Sabbath. I only have a part time job and the money I am earning I plan to give away. (I am on Social Security because of a disability). Maybe a point is being made to me about fully setting this money aside so I don't touch it at all. Or maybe the point is I am wrong in this idea as keeping the Sabbath is more important to God than me giving away this extra money. I used to work 60 hour weeks maybe God doesn't want me to ever put work as the number one priority again. I don't think Jesus would look down on me for wanting to work this job to give away money to the needy. I think I will just continue for now until I find myself in a new situation and then observe the Sabbath and not search for a job that conflicts with it again. If I'm wrong then at least I had a good motive.

 

[John 8:32]

Okay thats what I thought and I guess now we are on to what day it's supposed to be. So would you say if I don't observe the Sabbath I should ask God to forgive me? Or would you say it's more like a guideline? I say this because I don't think I can quit my job now for something I'm not convinced of (I see valid arguments from both sides) .And thank you for all you contributed to the discussion.

Which of the other Ten Commandments are just a guideline? Is it always wrong to murder? To take God's name in vain? To steal? As a matter of fact, have you ever seen a thread like this or a discussion like this for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th Commandments? Nope, just that pesky fourth one. The test Commandment.

As for your job, that is a decision you must make, no one else can make that for you. That is between you and God.

 

[JLB]

Actually, if one counts forward from the decree in Dan 9 for 69 weeks, 483 days, which is 483 years, one comes to 27 AD.

457 BC the decree of Artaxerxes
+ 483 years
=26 AD, now add one for the fact that there is no year zero and we come to 27 AD when Jesus Christ began His ministry.
Now add 3-1/2 years and we come to the spring of 31 AD.
Passover in 31 AD was on Wednesday, the first Day of Unleavened Bread on Thursday. So from Wednesday evening to Saturday evening is exactly three days and three nights as Christ said it would be in Mat 12:40

You have several things wrong with above statement.

First you start with Artexerxes rather than whom the "command" came from.

Next, you make no mention of the Pause's or Gaps in the time line.

Then you obviously didn't mention what "Messiah The prince" was a reference to.


Here is a good place to start with the first issue of who the "Command" came from.

So all the generations from Abraham to David are fourteen generations, from David until the captivity in Babylon are fourteen generations, and from the captivity in Babylon until the Christ are fourteen generations. Matthew 1:17


JLB

 

[felix]

Which of the other Ten Commandments are just a guideline? Is it always wrong to murder? To take God's name in vain? To steal? As a matter of fact, have you ever seen a thread like this or a discussion like this for the 1st, 2nd, 3rd, 5th, 6th, 7th, 8th, 9th or 10th Commandments? Nope, just that pesky fourth one. The test Commandment.

As for your job, that is a decision you must make, no one else can make that for you. That is between you and God.

The 10 commandments are a part of old covenant. If you want to deny this, then go ahead and deny Exod 34:28.

(Exod 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 words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

The old covenant is obsolete and vanishing away. Since the 10 commandments are infact the words of the covenant, they are obsolete. If you want the 4th commandment to be followed, then go ahead and first deny Heb 8:13.

(Heb 8:13) In that He says, "A new [covenant,"] He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Do you know Father God married Israel and they broke this marriage covenant?

(Isa 54:5) For your Maker [is] your husband .. (Jer 31:32) "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

God also divorced Israel.

(Isa 50:1) Thus says the LORD: "Where [is] the certificate of your mother's divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors [is it] to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.

Israel cannot go to Father God because God divorced Israel.

(Jer 3:1) "They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD.

The law of God says, a divorced wife cannot go back to the former husband.

(Deut 24:1-4) "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts [it] in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's [wife,] [if] the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts [it] in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, [then] her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that [is] an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you [as] an inheritance.

The old covenant is the marriage covenant between Israel and God the Father. When God divorced Israel, God cannot take back them. Thus, His Son came to cleanse us through His blood and created a new marriage covenant with us and now we become a bride of Christ and go to God the Father as a bride of Christ and not as a divorced wife.

Hence, following Sabbath and anything from the old covenant once the new covenant has arrived, is not only a sin according to the law but actually an abomination to God.

Hence,
Sabbath followers are an abomination to God.

 

[John 8:32]

The 10 commandments are a part of old covenant. If you want to deny this, then go ahead and deny Exod 34:28.

(Exod 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 words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments.

The old covenant is obsolete and vanishing away. Since the 10 commandments are infact the words of the covenant, they are obsolete. If you want the 4th commandment to be followed, then go ahead and first deny Heb 8:13.

(Heb 8:13) In that He says, "A new [covenant,"] He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

Do you know Father God married Israel and they broke this marriage covenant?

(Isa 54:5) For your Maker [is] your husband .. (Jer 31:32) "not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day [that] I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, though I was a husband to them, says the LORD.

God also divorced Israel.

(Isa 50:1) Thus says the LORD: "Where [is] the certificate of your mother's divorce, Whom I have put away? Or which of My creditors [is it] to whom I have sold you? For your iniquities you have sold yourselves, And for your transgressions your mother has been put away.

Israel cannot go to Father God because God divorced Israel.

(Jer 3:1) "They say, 'If a man divorces his wife, And she goes from him And becomes another man's, May he return to her again?' Would not that land be greatly polluted? But you have played the harlot with many lovers; Yet return to Me," says the LORD.

The law of God says, a divorced wife cannot go back to the former husband.

(Deut 24:1-4) "When a man takes a wife and marries her, and it happens that she finds no favor in his eyes because he has found some uncleanness in her, and he writes her a certificate of divorce, puts [it] in her hand, and sends her out of his house, when she has departed from his house, and goes and becomes another man's [wife,] [if] the latter husband detests her and writes her a certificate of divorce, puts [it] in her hand, and sends her out of his house, or if the latter husband dies who took her as his wife, [then] her former husband who divorced her must not take her back to be his wife after she has been defiled; for that [is] an abomination before the LORD, and you shall not bring sin on the land which the LORD your God is giving you [as] an inheritance.

The old covenant is the marriage covenant between Israel and God the Father. When God divorced Israel, God cannot take back them. Thus, His Son came to cleanse us through His blood and created a new marriage covenant with us and now we become a bride of Christ and go to God the Father as a bride of Christ and not as a divorced wife.

Hence, following Sabbath and anything from the old covenant once the new covenant has arrived, is not only a sin according to the law but actually an abomination to God.

Hence,
Sabbath followers are an abomination to God.

Then according to your reasoning, those who have no other gods before God are an abomination to God. Those who do not bow down to idols are an abomination to God. Those who do not use God's name in vain are an abomination. Etc.

I think your reasonings may be a little faulty.

Here is the actual Old Covenant...

Exo 19:5 Now therefore, if ye will obey my voice indeed, and keep my covenant, then ye shall be a peculiar treasure unto me above all people: for all the earth is mine:
Exo 19:6 And ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests, and an holy nation. These are the words which thou shalt speak unto the children of Israel.
Exo 19:7 And Moses came and called for the elders of the people, and laid before their faces all these words which the LORD commanded him.
Exo 19:8 And all the people answered together, and said, All that the LORD hath spoken we will do. And Moses returned the words of the people unto the LORD.

The Covenant was the agreement that the people would obey God and He would do certain things for them...

Deu 11:26 Behold, I set before you this day a blessing and a curse;
Deu 11:27 A blessing, if ye obey the commandments of the LORD your God, which I command you this day:
Deu 11:28 And a curse, if ye will not obey the commandments of the LORD your God, but turn aside out of the way which I command you this day, to go after other gods, which ye have not known.

These blessings were contingent upon their obedience to the words of the Covenant...

Exo 34:28 And he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights; he did neither eat bread, nor drink water. And he wrote upon the tables the words of the covenant, the ten commandments.

H1697
דּבר
dâbâr
daw-bawr'
From H1696; a word; by implication a matter (as spoken of) of thing; adverbially a cause: - act, advice, affair, answer, X any such (thing), + because of, book, business, care, case, cause, certain rate, + chronicles, commandment, X commune (-ication), + concern [-ing], + confer, counsel, + dearth, decree, deed, X disease, due, duty, effect, + eloquent, errand, [evil favoured-] ness, + glory, + harm, hurt, + iniquity, + judgment, language, + lying, manner, matter, message, [no] thing, oracle, X ought, X parts, + pertaining, + please, portion, + power, promise, provision, purpose, question, rate, reason, report, request, X (as hast) said, sake, saying, sentence, + sign, + so, some [uncleanness], somewhat to say, + song, speech, X spoken, talk, task, + that, X there done, thing (concerning), thought, + thus, tidings, what [-soever], + wherewith, which, word, work.

The Covenant itself was an agreement between God and the people. The Law was the conditions of the Covenant.

Then the New Covenant is the writing of the Law on our hearts and minds. God could not do that with those people, Pentecost had not occurred and the Holy Spirit was not available to them as a whole...

Rom 5:5 And hope maketh not ashamed; because the love of God is shed abroad in our hearts by the Holy Ghost which is given unto us.

Deu 5:29 O that there were such an heart in them, that they would fear me, and keep all my commandments always, that it might be well with them, and with their children for ever!

Another point is that eternal life was not one of the blessings of the Old Covenant. It was a physical Covenant with physical people. The New Covenant is the writing of the Law on our hearts and minds with a spiritual aspect to it...

Mat 5:17 Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.

Now instead of reading this as "Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to DESTROY." Read it in conjunction with the rest of the chapter and Mat 6 and 7...

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

Mat 5:21 Ye have heard that it was said by them of old time, Thou shalt not kill; and whosoever shall kill shall be in danger of the judgment:
Mat 5:22 But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire.

Under the New Covenant, being angry with a brother is sin and puts you in danger of Hell Fire. Under the Old Covenant, Hell Fire was not a consequence.

Just out of curiosity, why did Christ give the people a law they could not keep? Then demand a death penalty for it? Then send them into national slavery for breaking the Sabbath and idolatry? Then He comes to earth and says "Oh, that? That was just a big mistake, I am now doing away with that old law." Is this really the way it is?

Let's imagine a scenario, breaking the Sabbath demands the death penalty under the Old Covenant. The day before He establishes the New Covenant, someone is put to death. Then the next day, the law is abolished. What does Christ say to that person? Ooops? C'mon, Christ didn't do away with the law...

Heb 13:8 Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and to day, and for ever.

This is the Christ who said...

Exo 16:28 And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse ye to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exo 16:29 See, for that the LORD hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth 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.

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
Exo 20:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
Exo 20:10 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:
Exo 20:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.

Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.
Exo 31:14 Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
Exo 31:15 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.
Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exo 31:17 It is a sign between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.
Exo 31:18 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.

Let's notice two things in the above passage...

Verse 17, it is a sign between the children of Israel and God forever...

Who is the New Covenant made with?

Heb 8:8 For finding fault with them, he saith, Behold, the days come, saith the Lord, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah:

And who are Jews in the New Testament?

Gal 3:6 Even as Abraham believed God, and it was accounted to him for righteousness.
Gal 3:7 Know ye therefore that they which are of faith, the same are the children of Abraham.

Rom 2:28 For he is not a Jew, which is one outwardly; neither is that circumcision, which is outward in the flesh:
Rom 2:29 But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.

Second point, the Ten Commandments were written with the finger of God on stone. How was the law of Moses written?

2Ch 35:12 And they removed the burnt offerings, that they might give according to the divisions of the families of the people, to offer unto the LORD, as it is written in the book of Moses. And so did they with the oxen.

Where were the Ten Commandments?

Exo 25:16 And thou shalt put into the ark the testimony which I shall give thee.

Exo 40:20 And he took and put the testimony into the ark, and set the staves on the ark, and put the mercy seat above upon the ark:

Moses was instructed to put the Testimony God spoke to him inside the Ark. Inside the Ark were the Ten Commandments...

1Ki 8:9 There was nothing in the ark save the two tables of stone, which Moses put there at Horeb, when the LORD made a covenant with the children of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt.


Deu 31:24 And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
Deu 31:25 That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
Deu 31:26 Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee.

There are alternate thoughts concerning this, the law of Moses which was written in a book was either in a pocket or slot on the outside of the Ark or laid on the table beside the Ark. For the point of our discussion, it matters not, the book of the law of Moses was NOT inside the Ark. The Ten Commandments written on stone by the finger of God were.

So what?

Rev 11:19 And the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament: and there were lightnings, and voices, and thunderings, and an earthquake, and great hail.

In the Temple of God in Heaven there is an Ark...

Heb 8:5 Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, that thou make all things according to the pattern shewed to thee in the mount.

What we call the Ark of the Covenant Moses made is an exact copy of the Ark in Heaven. What do you suppose is in the Ark?