Before I continue reviewing the debate, I have a couple of things we need to clear up about the Sabbath. Adventists, as wonderful as they are, have created some false assumptions about a "day" of worship.
Having false assumptions on the "day" of worship in American is fairly easy because, in Protestant America, we think of only one day a week as church day—and that is Sunday. However, if you were to move to non-Protestant areas you would soon realize that for the Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic and Catholic Churches, their history is to worship corporately on a daily basis.
And because Protestants in the United States attend church usually only once a week, on Sundays, the Adventists have created a false history around the idea of there being a correct day of the week to go to church.
And because they believe there is a correct day of worship, they then take this false premise and go even further with believing there is a false day of worship—a day God does not want us to assemble together to worship Him. And further, Adventists doctrines record that in the last days, this correct day of worship will become an international test of Christian faith.
History and scripture can easily refute the idea that there is a wrong day of worship (Sunday) if we take the time to research it. In fact, the greatest evidence that Sunday is not a wrong day of worship is studying Christ's life. For in His lifetime, as an Israelite, He would have been required to have corporate worship in Jerusalem not on weekly Sabbaths (living in Nazareth and in Galilee, He could not have gone to weekly Sabbaths at the Temple. It was several days walk from Nazareth to the Temple.)
Having false assumptions on the "day" of worship in American is fairly easy because, in Protestant America, we think of only one day a week as church day—and that is Sunday. However, if you were to move to non-Protestant areas you would soon realize that for the Orthodox, Armenian, Coptic and Catholic Churches, their history is to worship corporately on a daily basis.
And because Protestants in the United States attend church usually only once a week, on Sundays, the Adventists have created a false history around the idea of there being a correct day of the week to go to church.
And because they believe there is a correct day of worship, they then take this false premise and go even further with believing there is a false day of worship—a day God does not want us to assemble together to worship Him. And further, Adventists doctrines record that in the last days, this correct day of worship will become an international test of Christian faith.
History and scripture can easily refute the idea that there is a wrong day of worship (Sunday) if we take the time to research it. In fact, the greatest evidence that Sunday is not a wrong day of worship is studying Christ's life. For in His lifetime, as an Israelite, He would have been required to have corporate worship in Jerusalem not on weekly Sabbaths (living in Nazareth and in Galilee, He could not have gone to weekly Sabbaths at the Temple. It was several days walk from Nazareth to the Temple.)
Like the rest of the men in Israel, they were required to attend corporate worship at the Temple on other Sabbaths than the weekly one—three annual Sabbaths. These did not always fall on the seventh-day of the week. Let us look at the time approximate time period of Christ's life that He would have been required to attend the annual sabbaths in Jerusalem and see what day of the week the annual Sabbaths fell on.
Here is the breakdown:
PASSOVER SABBATH
Passover/Pesach (Ex. 12: 14-20, Num. 28: 16-25, Dt. 16: 1-8)
These are the LORD's appointed feasts, the sacred assemblies you are to proclaim at their appointed times: The LORD's Passover begins at twilight...On the first day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. For seven days present an offering made to the LORD by fire. And on the seventh day hold a sacred assembly and do no regular work. Lev. 23: 4-8
Holy Convocations (sacred Sabbath assemblies) are on both the first and seventh day of this holy week and have a mandatory sacred Sabbath assembly of worshipping God.
During Christ’s lifetime there were 18 Passovers that fell on SUNDAY! Thirteen of them occurred after He was twelve (the age when Israel required men to go to worship at the Temple on the three mandatory annual Sabbaths). So we know that on thirteen different Sundays, Jesus was resting AND worshipping corporately on Sunday. This Sunday Sabbath was mandatory.
FEAST OF WEEKS SABBATH
Shavu’ot (Feast of Weeks)
From the day after the Sabbath, the day you brought the sheaf of the wave offering, count off seven full weeks. Count off fifty days up to the day after the seventh Sabbath, and then present an offering of new grain to the LORD...On that same day you are to proclaim a sacred assembly and do no regular work. This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come, wherever you live. Lev. 23: 15-21
Certain Jews and Christians today use a calendar system that fixes Shavu'ot fifty days after the weekly Sabbath which would make it a perpetual Sunday Sabbath. And we can say with confidence that Jesus attended at least twenty of them during His adulthood. But for the Jews who use the fifty days from the Passover annual Sabbath (not fixed to a day of the week) we offer the following: Feast of Weeks/ Shavu’ot occurred on a Sunday nine times and four after Jesus turned twelve. This Sabbath occurred on Sunday in the year AD 6, 9, 12, 13, 16, 19, 26, 33, 36.
FEAST OF TRUMPETS SABBATH
Feast of Trumpets/ Rosh Hashanah
On the first day of the seventh month you are to have a day of rest, a sacred assembly commemorated with trumpet blasts. Do no regular work, but present an offering made to the LORD by fire. Lev. 23: 23-25
There were seven Feast of Trumpets Sundays that required a Sabbath rest and a sacred assembly during Christ’s life, five after he turned twelve. The years a Sunday Sabbath on this feast occurred was in AD: 3, 10, 20, 23, 24, 27, 30
FEAST OF TABERNACLES SABBATH
Feast of Tabernacles/ Sukkot
Feast of Tabernacles/ Sukkot
On the fifteenth day of the seventh month the LORD's Feast of Tabernacles begins, and it lasts for seven days. The first day is a sacred assembly; do no regular work. For seven days present offerings made to the LORD by fire, and on the eighth day hold a sacred assembly and present an offering made to the LORD by fire. It is the closing assembly; do no regular work. These are the LORD's appointed feasts, which you are to proclaim as sacred assemblies for bringing offerings made to the LORD ....This is to be a lasting ordinance for the generations to come Lev. 23: 34-41
During Christ’s life the Feast of Tabernacles sacred assembly, listed by God as an official “Sabbath” occurred on Sunday in the years AD: 3, 10, 23, 27, 30 and Christ would have attended the last three of these.
During Christ’s life the Feast of Tabernacles sacred assembly, listed by God as an official “Sabbath” occurred on Sunday in the years AD: 3, 10, 23, 27, 30 and Christ would have attended the last three of these.
At the very least Christ would have attended 25 Sunday Sabbaths in his lifetime.
Why, in reviewing a debate about whether Christians must keep a Saturday Sabbath, would I bring up the Sunday-Sabbaths that Jesus was required to keep?
Because as you will note at the end of the debate, Doug Batchelor admits that Seventh-day Adventists teach and believe that before Christ comes again there will be a final test for Christians. The Seventh-day Adventists church claims there is no precedent in scripture to make Sunday a holy day. In fact, this is so serious to them that in the end-times Christians who attend church on Sunday (the false Sabbath) will receive the Mark of the Beast.
I have above shown that not only is there scriptural and historical evidence of Sunday Sabbaths, but that Jesus kept them many times in His life. If Jesus kept Sunday as a holy Sabbath rest day along with all Israel, then it is not against God's will for Christians to do so.
Keep this in mind as you read part III of the review that I will be posting soon! Blessings.
Because as you will note at the end of the debate, Doug Batchelor admits that Seventh-day Adventists teach and believe that before Christ comes again there will be a final test for Christians. The Seventh-day Adventists church claims there is no precedent in scripture to make Sunday a holy day. In fact, this is so serious to them that in the end-times Christians who attend church on Sunday (the false Sabbath) will receive the Mark of the Beast.
I have above shown that not only is there scriptural and historical evidence of Sunday Sabbaths, but that Jesus kept them many times in His life. If Jesus kept Sunday as a holy Sabbath rest day along with all Israel, then it is not against God's will for Christians to do so.
Keep this in mind as you read part III of the review that I will be posting soon! Blessings.
4 comments:
Hi Teresa Beem.
I hope all is well. Does the term 'first day' in the Passover Sabbath refer to the first day of the week (sunday) or first day of the festival, which could begin on any day of the week?.
God bless
J
Hello J, yes all is well, thank you. And you?
Israel did not have a weekly calendar like we do today. Their weeks, months and years were not connected with a Roman system introduced centuries later. The Hebrew Passover celebration began and ended according to the positions of the sun, moon and stars. Therefore it was utterly disconnected to a Sunday, Monday, etc. The term "first" day may be the first day of the lunar week or it could mean the first day of the festival, but because of their system, it meant the same, since the heavens declared when the festival started.
Hi, I suppose the feasts which could start at any day of the week should not be married with the actual Sabbath of the ten commandments because it is definite on it's day. It is the reason why if there was a high Sabbath if the feast Sabbath falls on a commandment Sabbath .These are to be taken differently to avoid confusion on the Hebrew feasts and the Sabbath day of the commandments. Thanks
Thank you.
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