Why the Sabbath is used by God as his seal.

[reddogs]

The Sabbath from Creation was a special day that was made for man and stamped a seal of Gods authority here that could not be denied.
o understand the importance of Gods Sabbath as it pertains to his authority we begin at the first day of creation.
Genesis 1:1-5
1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. 2 Now the earth was [a] formless and empty, darkness was over the surface of the deep, and the Spirit of God was hovering over the waters. 3 And God said, "Let there be light," and there was light. 4 God saw that the light was good, and He separated the light from the darkness. 5 God called the light "day," and the darkness he called "night." And there was evening, and there was morning were the first day.
Thus the first day finished and we are told that Jesus was here with God as part of the trinity and yet he didnt make any claim for this day or mark it as a special day for man. Now contrast this with the way the seventh day is set aside:

Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were completed in all their vast array.
2 By the seventh day God had finished the work he had been doing; so on the seventh day he rested [a] from all his work. 3 And God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

So the creator of the heavens and earth rested from all his work on the seventh day and blessed it and made it holy. Was he tired after all those days of creation, of course not. He was making a exclamation point on his creation that it was his, and to drive the point home he set his standard or mark on it, the seal of his authority. This seal or mark. much as one see's on the front of stands of world leaders, was set on this planet to show his domain, lay claim, delineate his area of authority. Nothing was made on the sabbath so there was no reason for him to create it except as a gift which he had the power and authority to do. God placed His presence in the Sabbath by resting on that day. He "sanctified" the Sabbath, i.e., separated it, set it apart for holy use or purpose. He, not man, made the seventh day then made it the Sabbath and made it Holy and gave it to us.

Now since sin had not yet occurred on earth the concepts of murder or stealing had no meaning to Adam or Eve so God put the test of the Tree of the Knowledge of Good and Evil. They still had a choice to obey, they were not held back from sinning but being in Gods love they had no need for anything in sin. God tells Man the results of going beyond Gods authority and into that of another, of making this choice which results in the wages of sin.

Genesis 2:15-17
15 The LORD God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and take care of it. 16 And the LORD God commanded the man, "You are free to eat from any tree in the garden; 17 but you must not eat from the tree of the knowledge of good and evil, for when you eat of it you will surely die."

This is why Satan fights so hard to wipe of the evidence of creation and do away with peoples belief in it as it sets Gods domain and the Sabbath his mark for all time. All the other commandments man could hide his sin or keep their sin from being uncovered so God put a clear mark showing his standard, so to follow the Sabbath it had to be evident, a clear sign to others of our love for God.

So a change to Gods mark of authority has much more than one would think. For what we see today that man does to brings his standard or flag and plants it to claim the domain of their King or Country so that all can see their declaration of authority, so the Sabbath at creation was Gods flag. It shows who put his standard on this earth at creation and claimed it as his own and put a sign of his authority on it, and who the usurper is when it comes to worship.

"..The change from Sabbath to Sunday was not simply one of names or numbers, but of authority, meaning and experience. It was a change from a holy day divinely established to enable us to experience more freely and more fully the awareness of divine presence and peace in our lives, into holiday which has become an occasion to seek for personal pleasure and profit...." HOW IT CAME ABOUT:FROM SABBATH TO SUNDAY ? Samuele Bacchiocchi, Ph. D., Andrews University

 

[for_his_glory]

Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

Sabbath is the seventh day, which by our calendar makes it a Saturday. It is the day God rested after creating everything including man and woman. God sanctified it meaning He set it apart from all the other days as a day He rested from all His work. From the time of Adam to that of Mt. Sinai it was never commanded as being a holy day or that all mankind was to rest on that day. It was a holy day as God being Holy and rested that day.

The Hebrew Sabbath was instituted by God given to Moses in Exodus 16 as a day that started from Friday at sunset to Saturday at sunset as a day of remembrance or a memorial of the Exodus exile as God parted the sea bringing the Hebrews to the promised land by defeating their foes. Hebrews used a Lunar Calendar that is different from our Gregorian calendar we use today.

The Sabbath was a ceremonial law practiced and that of the Old Covenant, the same covenant that circumcised and sacrificed animals. Some may literally circumcise, but we do not sacrifice animals anymore. This ceremonial law was only for Israel and not the Gentiles as now under the new covenant that joins Israel and Gentiles together under the grace of God the ceremonial laws no longer exist as Jesus is now our sacrifice whom we find rest in.

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

 

[WalterandDebbie]

From the time of Adam to that of Mt. Sinai it was never commanded as being a holy day or that all mankind was to rest on that day.

Hi Deb, Could you please explain this in the context of scripture? Thank you.

Love, Walter

 

[for_his_glory]

Hi Deb, Could you please explain this in the context of scripture? Thank you.

Love, Walter

When reading through the ten commandments nine of them say : "Thou shall not", but in reading Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, this is not a commandment like the other nine, but only to keep the sabbath/seventh day in remembrance as a day of rest as the Sabbath was made for man and not and not man for the sabbath. God set the seventh day apart from the other six days as a day of rest from all the work one does in the other six days.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. We keep it holy as only a day of remembrance. This is completely different then

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.

Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

When reading through the ten commandments nine of them say : "Thou shall not", but in reading Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy, this is not a commandment like the other nine, but only to keep the sabbath/seventh day in remembrance as a day of rest as the Sabbath was made for man and not and not man for the sabbath. God set the seventh day apart from the other six days as a day of rest from all the work one does in the other six days.

Gen 2:1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
Gen 2:2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
Gen 2:3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made. We keep it holy as only a day of remembrance. This is completely different then

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.

Mar 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
Mar 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Thank you Deb, for your insight and scripture context:

 

[WalterandDebbie]

10-25-23

While reading this booklet titled: Saturday Or Sunday, Which Is The Sabbath? by David C. Pack, I thought it might be interesting.

CHAPTER TWO –FROM THE BEGINNING​

This book will examine many verses from the Old Testament. Of course, it is there that the Sabbath is first mentioned. However, one of the strongest verses in the entire Bible on the subject of God’s Sabbath day is found in the New Testament!
Speaking to His disciples, Christ said, “The SABBATH was made for man” (Mark 2:27). This is a powerful statement. Immediately following this verse, we read: “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.” (This is repeated in Luke 6:5.) Any who wish to superimpose the idea that Christ did not keep and endorse the Sabbath must face this enormous first obstacle. This plain passage, recorded twice for emphasis, cannot be dismissed. We will see there is a reason it follows verse 27 as it does.
But what did Christ mean when He said, “The Sabbath was made for man”? Haven’t you always been taught, “The Sabbath was made for the Jews”? If so, why did Christ say, in the New Testament, “for man”? We must go to the creation account to find the answer.

​

The Real Beginning​

Genesis means “beginning.” Most people assume this is where one learns of the beginning of God’s revealed knowledge. The true beginning of all things—where the account of God’s creation really starts—is not found in Genesis 1. It is found in the New Testament, in John 1. This is where the Bible records who or what existed before the creation recorded in Genesis.
Here is how John writes of the earliest time the Bible records: “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God. All things [“the universe” – Moffatt translation of same word in Hebrews 1:2] were made by Him; and without Him was not ANYTHING made that was made” (1:1-3). This is all-encompassing.
But who is “the Word”? John answers a few verses later: “And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us, (and we beheld His glory, the glory as of the only begotten of the Father,) full of grace and truth” (vs. 14).
In the original Greek, the term “the Word” actually means “Spokesman.” While Christ only became the Son of God at His human birth, He was an eternal Being—He was “without father, without mother, without descent, having neither beginning of days, nor end of life” (Heb. 7:3).
Plainly, these verses speak of Jesus Christ both before and after His human birth. Only one God Being “became flesh and dwelt among us.” But verse 1 reveals more! Notice it says that Christ, the Word, “was” God and was also “with” God. This can only be possible if TWO separate Beings are being described. These TWO eternal Beings—Personages—existed before any of the physical universe had been created. They existed from the beginning and earlier.
Ephesians 3:9, written by Paul, confirms John 1: “God…created all things by Jesus Christ.” Having been “the Word”—the Spokesman—for all eternity, Jesus said many times throughout His ministry that He only stated what God wanted Him to say. Since He was “the Word,” we can understand why Psalm 33 states, “By the Word of the LORD were the heavens [the universe] made; and all the host of them by the breath of His mouth…For He spoke, and it was done” (vs. 6, 9).
Understand what we have just read! Notice this plain passage, ignored by almost all: “And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they [ancient Israel] drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them: and that Rock was Christ” (I Cor. 10:4). We will examine this later in greater detail.
The One who followed ancient Israel out of Egypt and through the wilderness was Jesus Christ of the New Testament! And Paul wrote that God created “all things—by [through] Jesus Christ”!
Let’s read one final scripture demonstrating, from the New Testament, that Christ, in fact, was involved in all of the creation process: “For by Him [Christ] were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by Him, and for Him…And He is the Head of the body, the church” (Col. 1:16, 18).
This passage is all-inclusive. The fact that Christ helped create everything that exists in the entire universe must be understood before continuing.

The Creation of Man​

Since Jesus Christ and the Father were both present during the creation week, Genesis 1:26 naturally speaks of “Us” and “Our” when referring to God. Yet, again, it was Christ who actually did the creating of “all things.”
Notice: “And God [Elohim] said, Let US make man in OUR image, after OUR likeness: and let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, and over the fowl of the air, and over the cattle, and over all the earth, and over every creeping thing that creeps upon the earth. So God created man in His own image, in the image of God created He him; male and female created He them…And God saw every thing that He had made, and, behold, it was very good. And the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Gen. 1:26-27, 31).
The last part of Genesis 1 records the creation of man on the sixth day. This passage reveals that the Father and Christ (remember, Christ did the creating—He was the God of the Old Testament) created man for a great purpose—to reflect physically and take on spiritually God’s “image” and “likeness.”

​

Sabbath Created Next—for Man​

Recognizing that Christ is doing the creating, here is the next passage following the creation of man and the completion of the sixth day: “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the SEVENTH DAY God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the SEVENTH DAY from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the SEVENTH DAY, and sanctified IT: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3).
The very first thing that CHRIST created after man was the Sabbath. This occurred over 2,000 years before the first Jew (the man named Judah) was born. The Sabbath was never merely for the Jews, or ancient Israel. The Sabbath was made “for man”—first, for Adam and Eve in the Garden, and for all other men ever after.
Christ created man—and He created the Sabbath. No wonder He said He was “Lord of the Sabbath.” Christ knew who He had made it for and why! Ponder this. Nowhere does Christ ever say He was Lord of Sunday. He never said that He made Sunday for man. Instead, we can now understand why He could say He was Lord of the SEVENTH DAY. Christ personally rested on, blessed and sanctified THIS day from the beginning of creation.
God does everything for a purpose. He wanted His creation, man, to be able to rest one day after working for six previous days. We will learn later that the Sabbath involves a SPECIAL COVENANT—a Sabbath covenant—between God and His true servants.

​

Pharisees Miss the Point!​

Some, missing the entire point of Mark 2:27-28, referenced earlier, have used this account to show that Jesus did away with the Sabbath. This account and others we will examine are misused to say that Christ voided the Sabbath. They say no such thing!

The Mark 2 account occurs on the Sabbath and begins in verse 23, with the disciples plucking ears of corn for food as they strolled along listening to Christ’s instruction. The Pharisees challenged them, thinking they were doing things “not lawful” on the Sabbath. Christ’s response was to show that, as the Author, Creator and Lord of the Sabbath, He—not the Pharisees or anyone else, then or ever after—could speak with authority about how to observe it. In other words, Christ governs all matters in relation to the Sabbath. As Maker, Sustainer and Author of the Sabbath Covenant, He alone deserves the title “Lord of the Sabbath.” Neither any church nor any man can take this role from the One who created the Sabbath for His own purpose!
The Pharisees had 65 separate “do’s” and “don’ts” governing almost every tiny aspect of how the Sabbath should or should not be kept. Their manmade regulations, developed over centuries, had turned the Sabbath into bondage instead of the blessing for mankind that God intended it to be. Many things were considered “not lawful.”
Jesus stressed that the Sabbath was made for man’s needs—to rest, be refreshed and commune with God. The Pharisees acted as if man was made for complying with their endless rules. Their maze of regulations separated them from the Sabbath’s true meaning.

 

[Tenchi]

Exo 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.

This is a statement in the imperative mood. In other words, the statement is a command, not a suggestion. God offers no softening qualification to this statement, no tempering of the imperative nature of it. That it doesn't begin with "You shall not" in no way indicates that it is not, therefore, a command.

Exodus 20:8-10 (NASB)
8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

The "You shall not" does appear in relation to keeping the sabbath in verse 9. It seems very evident to me, then, that verse 8 is a command like all the rest of the Ten (not nine) Commandments. Other places in the OT confirm that keeping the sabbath day was a command of God and not merely a suggestion, bearing a dire penalty if contravened.

Exodus 31:14-15
14 You shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one who defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 35:1-2
1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD has commanded, that you should do them.
2 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 does work therein shall be put to death.

Leviticus 23:3
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.

under the new covenant that joins Israel and Gentiles together under the grace of God the ceremonial laws no longer exist as Jesus is now our sacrifice whom we find rest in.

Amen.

Romans 14:5-6 (NASB)
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB)
16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Romans 7:6
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

 

[for_his_glory]

This is a statement in the imperative mood. In other words, the statement is a command, not a suggestion. God offers no softening qualification to this statement, no tempering of the imperative nature of it. That it doesn't begin with "You shall not" in no way indicates that it is not, therefore, a command.

Exodus 20:8-10 (NASB)
8 "Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 "Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
10 but the seventh day is a sabbath of the LORD your God; in it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter, your male or your female servant or your cattle or your sojourner who stays with you.

The "You shall not" does appear in relation to keeping the sabbath in verse 9. It seems very evident to me, then, that verse 8 is a command like all the rest of the Ten (not nine) Commandments. Other places in the OT confirm that keeping the sabbath day was a command of God and not merely a suggestion, bearing a dire penalty if contravened.

Exodus 31:14-15
14 You shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one who defiles it shall surely be put to death: for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
15 Six days may work be done; but in the seventh is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD: whosoever does any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Exodus 35:1-2
1 And Moses gathered all the congregation of the children of Israel together, and said unto them, These are the words which the LORD has commanded, that you should do them.
2 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 does work therein shall be put to death.

Leviticus 23:3
3 Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; you shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.



Amen.

Romans 14:5-6 (NASB)
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB)
16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Romans 7:6
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

It's commanded as only a day of rest. Do you do anything at all on Saturday that would be considered even work around your house?

 

[Tenchi]

It's commanded as only a day of rest. Do you do anything at all on Saturday that would be considered even work around your house?

See the last part of my post.

 

[for_his_glory]

Mat 12:1 At that time Jesus went on the sabbath day through the corn; and his disciples were an hungred, and began to pluck the ears of corn, and to eat.
Mat 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
Mat 12:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
Mat 12:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
Mat 12:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
Mat 12:6 But I say unto you, That in this place is one greater than the temple.
Mat 12:7 But if ye had known what this meaneth, I will have mercy, and not sacrifice, ye would not have condemned the guiltless.
Mat 12:8 For the Son of man is Lord even of the sabbath day.

A Man with a Withered Hand
Mat 12:9 And when he was departed thence, he went into their synagogue:
Mat 12:10 And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
Mat 12:11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Mat 12:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
Mat 12:13 Then saith he to the man, Stretch forth thine hand. And he stretched it forth; and it was restored whole, like as the other.
Mat 12:14 Then the Pharisees went out, and held a council against him, how they might destroy him.

 

[for_his_glory]

See the last part of my post.

Sorry, but that doesn't answer the personal question I asked you if you do anything around your house on Saturday.

 

[Tenchi]

under the new covenant that joins Israel and Gentiles together under the grace of God the ceremonial laws no longer exist as Jesus is now our sacrifice whom we find rest in.

Amen.

Romans 14:5-6 (NASB)
5 One person regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Each person must be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Colossians 2:16-17 (NASB)
16 Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day—
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Romans 7:6
6 But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.

I act, in regards to the Sabbath, in consistency with these verses.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

10-25-23 Continue from Saturday or Sunday, Which Is The Sabbath? post #6 in this thread.

Christ showed that the Pharisees’ condemnation of gathering corn to be eaten on the Sabbath was wrong (vs. 23-26). It was permissible to gather food on the Sabbath to satisfy immediate hunger.
Also, in Mark 3:1-6, the Pharisees watched Christ to see if He would heal on the Sabbath. When He perceived that they sought to accuse Him, Christ asked, “Is it lawful to do good on the sabbath days, or to do evil? To save life, or to kill?” (vs. 4). The Pharisees would not answer Him. Christ immediately healed the man, after which the Pharisees sought to KILL Him. What an indictment against self-righteous human nature! Christ’s example shows that it is permissible to do good on the Sabbath and, in certain circumstances, to relieve suffering. This is in harmony with the spirit and intent of the Fourth Commandment.
In the same account found in Matthew 12:11-12, Christ used the analogy of rescuing an animal in distress. To this the Pharisees agreed. Yet they did not allow for Christ to heal people on the Sabbath. He used this same analogy in Luke 13:15-17, of loosing livestock from a stall to lead them away for watering on the Sabbath, with which the Pharisees also agreed. But they protested Christ’s healing of an Israelite woman bound with an 18-year affliction.
While these accounts are never a license to break the Sabbath, they explain that Christ allowed certain necessary physical duties to be carried out on this day. The Sabbath is made FOR mankind, as a BLESSING—not to create a list of strict manmade “do’s” and “don’ts,” thereby making it a curse.

God Did Not Need to Rest​

Exodus 31:17 states, “In six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.” Did Christ need to rest? The Bible states plainly that God “faints not, neither is weary” (Isa. 40:28). While God certainly was refreshed, it was not because He was tired and “needed a break.”
It would make no sense for God to make a day of rest on the first day of the week. Think about this. What would be the point of God making the Sabbath to begin the week so that He could rest from six days of work He had yet to perform? Christ says in both the Old and New Testaments that He never changes (Mal. 3:6; Heb. 13:8). Therefore, God (Christ) could not ordain the Sabbath as the seventh day of the week only to later change it to the first day.
Invariably, when people are tired, they must rest. The purpose for God resting was entirely different—and far greater in meaning than first meets the eye. This is important because some assert God rested on the seventh day to satisfy His own personal fatigue. Of course, this makes no sense whatsoever if the Sabbath was made “for man.” It was never “for God.”
Exodus 20:11 reveals that God “hallowed”—made holy—the seventh day of every week. Other scriptures will make this absolutely plain. God “blessed the seventh day.” From this moment forward, the seventh day is made SPECIAL—it has God’s divine blessing on it. The phrase “and sanctified it” helps clarify what this means. Dictionaries define the word sanctify as “set apart for a holy use or purpose.” This makes the Sabbath God’s time, not ours. Remember, in effect, Christ declared that He is Lord of this block of time. Four thousand years after creation, Christ said He was still Lord of this same special holy time He had given to man.
When placed together, the terms hallowed, blessed and sanctified show that God made the Sabbath holy, special for all time—throughout all ages! This was God’s intended purpose. This is what His resting—when He did not need to rest—achieved. When this is understood, it is easy to see why no MAN—or CHURCH—has the authority to make the Sabbath, or any other period of time, holy. Just as men cannot cause some other day to be holy, their ignorance or rejection of what God has made holy cannot make it UNHOLY.
The Sabbath is a 24-hour period of time God has made holy once every seven days. It begins at sunset Friday and ends at sunset Saturday.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

10-25-23 Continue from Saturday or Sunday, Which Is The Sabbath? post #6 and 13 in this thread.

The Bible Can Be Proven​

We will see that God commands men to remove their foot from this special time. He does not want men trampling on, profaning, His Sabbath.

Before we discuss how God makes things holy, and what this means, none of this would make any difference if the Bible is not God’s Word—and cannot be proven to be divinely inspired.
You must come to realize the Bible has SUPREME AUTHORITY in all spiritual matters, involving both belief and practice. Romans 8:9 says that one is not a Christian if he does not have Jesus Christ, through the Holy Spirit, living within him. God’s Spirit is holy. It will not enter one who refuses to follow that which is holy.
Christ kept the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). Remember, the Bible states that He is “the same yesterday, and today, and forever” (Heb. 13:8), and does not change (Mal. 3:6). Christ will still keep the Sabbath in you!
Do these words, and other passages cited in this book, carry the authority of a Supreme Being? Can one actually prove the Bible? This is itself a huge question! Just as most never seek to prove the existence of God, most never concern themselves with proving the AUTHORITY of the Bible. They either have no interest in such proof or assume there is none—that it cannot be done!
What about you? Have you taken the time to seek actual, tangible proof of the Bible’s authority? As with the existence of God, have you been taught that you must accept the Bible entirely “on faith”? Most people are never challenged to find real PROOF that this Book is the inspired record of a Supreme Being. Circumstances rarely force people to undertake such a task. This is probably the single biggest reason that most never do. While I regularly attended “church” when growing up, I was never required, nor felt compelled, to prove either that God exists or that He authored the Bible. Not one of my “Sunday school” teachers ever suggested that this should be done or that there was value in it. Nor was any proof of these ever given or offered to me by anyone else prior to my calling! Not one person ever suggested to me that I should even be concerned with proving the answers to these two towering questions.
But unless you prove the Bible’s authority, you will never remove your activity from what God tells you He has made holy—the Sabbath. Again, no man has the authority to make a day holy. Only God does—and He commands us to keep His Sabbath in the condition we found it. But you must prove if the Bible command carries weight. Others of my books do this.
Let’s see further what holy means.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

10-25-23 Continue from Saturday or Sunday, Which Is The Sabbath? post #6 and 14 in this thread.

Explaining “Holy”​

I ask again: Does it make any difference to God which day men choose to make holy? Can they arbitrarily select any day they wish and designate it “holy”?
A well-known Bible example illustrates the point. Exodus 3 gives the account of God speaking to Moses from a burning bush. While most who know anything of the Bible are familiar with this passage, there is an overlooked lesson in it pertaining to the Sabbath. The setting is Moses leading a flock of sheep to Mt. Sinai (Horeb). He came to a bush that was burning, yet was not burning up.
God commanded Moses, “Draw not near here: put off your shoes from off your feet, for the place whereon you stand is HOLY GROUND” (vs. 5). Moses did not argue about whether he thought the ground was holy. He simply took his shoes off. Much was at stake here. Had Moses done otherwise, reasoning like so many today, who argue about what God has made holy, God would have been unable to use him to lead Israel from bondage in Egypt.
It was God’s presence in the bush that made it holy. Surrounding bushes or ground were not holy. God designated only a certain piece of ground as holy, as having His presence. The account does not indicate that the ground looked or felt or in any way appeared different from the surrounding landscape. God had to REVEAL to Moses that the ground was holy—that He was present in it—that Moses must remove his shoes from it. Moses was given no choice but to treat that ground as special and holy. But appearance did not tell him this. God had to reveal it to him!
There is a direct connection to the Sabbath in this point. Here is what the prophet Isaiah wrote: “If you turn away your foot from the sabbath, from doing your pleasure [business] on My holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honorable; and shall honor Him, NOT doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor speaking your own words: Then shall you delight yourself in the LORD; and I will cause you to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father: for the mouth of the LORD has spoken it” (58:13-14).
This plain passage explains that there are ways to profane God’s holy Sabbath. Like the ground around the burning bush, we are commanded to take our feet (our shoes) off God’s holy time—time that points to Him and has His holy presence in it. Either we believe the ideas and customs of men—and their churches—or we believe the plain commands from ALMIGHTY GOD! Either the opinions—and acceptance—of God-rejecting human beings are important to us, or the opinion of God is!
Which do you value?
God says, “The Eternal has given you the Sabbath.” We have seen that this world’s theologians have given mankind and professing “Churchianity” Sunday (the day of the sun)—and we will learn that it comes from rank paganism!

 

[WalterandDebbie]

10-25-23 10-25-23 Conclusion from Saturday or Sunday, Which Is The Sabbath? post #6 and 15 in this thread.

God Kept Track of the Weekly Cycle​

After making the seventh day holy 4,000 years earlier, Jesus Christ kept the Sabbath—and His presence is still in it today, 2,000 years later. Obviously, having been present at its creation, Christ would not be confused about which day to keep the Sabbath (Luke 4:16). But we should take a moment to briefly overview the pattern of Sabbath observance through the 4,000 years from its creation to Christ’s First Coming. This sets the stage to “clear the deck” of all questions for mankind’s first 4,000 years of existence.
Adam and Eve kept the Sabbath almost immediately after they were created on the sixth day. Obviously, their son Abel is called “righteous” (Matt. 23:35). Since Psalm 119:172 explains, “All your commandments are righteousness,” Abel kept the Sabbath. Since Enoch “walked with God” (Gen. 5:24), as a preacher of righteousness (Jude 14-15), he just as obviously kept the Sabbath. Therefore Noah, also a “preacher of righteousness” (II Pet. 2:5), would certainly have kept the Sabbath. All these preachers—Abel, Seth, Enos, Cainan, Mahalaleel, Jared, Enoch and Noah—were direct descendants of each other (Seth was Abel’s brother) in this order and their lives overlapped for hundreds of years. (It can be demonstrated that Adam died only about 125 years before Noah was born.) No one would have lost track of the weekly cycle—and therefore which day was the Sabbath—during this period. (We will address this topic in greater detail in the next chapter.) Certainly Shem would have been taught by his father Noah to keep the Sabbath. History also records that he was “righteous”—and he overlapped 150 years into Abraham’s lifetime.
Abraham, often called “the father of the faithful,” kept God’s Sabbath. Notice: “Because that Abraham obeyed My voice, and kept My charge, My COMMANDMENTS, My statutes, and My laws” (Gen. 26:5). This verse is most plain. Abraham kept God’s Sabbath! It is the Fourth COMMANDMENT.
The Bible declares that “Sin is the transgression of the law” (I John 3:4). Because the Law did exist from creation, God could tell Cain, before he killed Abel, that “SIN lies at the door” (Gen. 4:7), if he did not control his attitude.
Human beings must justify their rebellion against God’s Commandments. Human nature hates His law (Rom. 8:7), preferring the traditions and commandments of men in its place (Mark 7:6-9). Yet, God commands in the New Testament that to break any ONE of His laws is sin (Jms. 2:10-11).
There is a reason this is especially critical to understand. Many who refuse to accept God’s Sabbath, forgetting it was made at creation, claim that God’s Commandments did not exist until Moses received them at Mt. Sinai—430 years after the promises were made to Abraham. How then did Abraham and others know of them? Because they were all given at creation. The weekly cycle has never changed since the original creation week.
Before continuing, let’s be absolutely certain that this is true. Let’s study the abundance of proof.

 

[Randy]

If the sabbath was a seal of ownership then all those who keep the Sabbath are the children of God.

But that's not the testimony given in regard to the children of God and those who belong to God. Such were sealed with the Holy Spirit and if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ in them then they don't belong to Him. And those such'd sealed weren't sealed by any works of the law but by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and by God's will not any man's will. "children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

 

[WalterandDebbie]

If the sabbath was a seal of ownership then all those who keep the Sabbath are the children of God.

But that's not the testimony given in regard to the children of God and those who belong to God. Such were sealed with the Holy Spirit and if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ in them then they don't belong to Him. And those such'd sealed weren't sealed by any works of the law but by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and by God's will not any man's will. "children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Amen

 

[WalterandDebbie]

If the sabbath was a seal of ownership then all those who keep the Sabbath are the children of God.

But that's not the testimony given in regard to the children of God and those who belong to God. Such were sealed with the Holy Spirit and if anyone doesn't have the Spirit of Christ in them then they don't belong to Him. And those such'd sealed weren't sealed by any works of the law but by grace through faith in Christ Jesus and by God's will not any man's will. "children born not of natural descent, nor of human decision or a husband's will, but born of God."

in order that we, who were the first to put our hope in Christ, might be for the praise of his glory. 13 And you also were included in Christ when you heard the message of truth, the gospel of your salvation. When you believed, you were marked in him with a seal, the promised Holy Spirit, 14 who is a deposit guaranteeing our inheritance until the redemption of those who are God’s possession—to the praise of his glory.

Hello Randy again, Here are a few views as to your issue from Bing:

The concept of the Sabbath as a seal of ownership is a topic of debate among different religious groups. According to some interpretations, the Sabbath is considered a sign of God’s ownership and a symbol of His covenant with His people 1. However, it is important to note that the Sabbath is not the only sign of God’s ownership, and keeping the Sabbath does not necessarily make one a child of God.

The Bible teaches that those who believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior are the children of God 1. The Holy Spirit is the seal of God that authenticates our relationship with Him and confirms our status as His children 1. Therefore, it is not the observance of the Sabbath that makes us children of God, but rather our faith in Jesus Christ.

In summary, while the Sabbath is an important aspect of many religious traditions, it is not the only sign of God’s ownership, and keeping the Sabbath does not guarantee one’s status as a child of God. Rather, it is our faith in Jesus Christ that makes us children of God and authenticates our relationship with Him.

 

[Randy]

Hello Randy again, Here are a few views as to your issue from Bing:

The concept of the Sabbath as a seal of ownership is a topic of debate among different religious groups. According to some interpretations, the Sabbath is considered a sign of God’s ownership and a symbol of His covenant with His people 1. However, it is important to note that the Sabbath is not the only sign of God’s ownership, and keeping the Sabbath does not necessarily make one a child of God.

The Bible teaches that those who believe in Jesus Christ and accept Him as their Lord and Savior are the children of God 1. The Holy Spirit is the seal of God that authenticates our relationship with Him and confirms our status as His children 1. Therefore, it is not the observance of the Sabbath that makes us children of God, but rather our faith in Jesus Christ.

In summary, while the Sabbath is an important aspect of many religious traditions, it is not the only sign of God’s ownership, and keeping the Sabbath does not guarantee one’s status as a child of God. Rather, it is our faith in Jesus Christ that makes us children of God and authenticates our relationship with Him.

Well in the Christian religion the Spirit is the seal of ownership and the new covenant that Jesus introduced in His blood in Israel first is the only covenant that currently exists between God and man. Anyone who rejected Jesus was cutoff.