| HERALD MINISTRIES EDITORIAL PAGES FROM THE DESK OF THE FOUNDER AND EDITOR OF HERALD MINISTRIES :
SO WHAT DAY DO YOU OBSERVE?
Most of mainstream Christianity states that they believe in, and keep the 10 commandments. Yet they refuse to accept the 4th one which is “remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy.’ We find ample proof in the written word that ancient Israel was chosen by God to be His representative people. We read this in Exodus 19:1-6. God was not referring only to the tribe of Judah, but to all 12 sons of the patriarch Jacob (Israel). Because they were His people, God expressly told them in Exodus 20:8-11 to remember the Sabbath Day and keep it holy. Today most Christians who claim to observe the Ten Commandments believe that the Sabbath is Sunday. Yet we read in Exodus 20:9 “Six days shall thou labor and do all thy work.” Then notice in v. 10- ‘But the seventh day is the Sabbath (rest) of the Lord thy God.’ He then forbids any work to be done on that day. Today the world calls this 7th day Saturday, or Saturn’s day after a pagan god. The Bible continues in Exodus 20:11 “for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested on the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day (#7) and hallowed it.” In other words, God made the 7th day holy. This is repeated in Deuteronomy 5:12-15, and in Exodus 23:12 we read “Six days thou shalt do thy work, and on the seventh day thou shalt rest’. We read in Exodus 31:13-17 another scripture that establishes the 7th day as the day of rest, and not Sunday as observed by most of Christendom. We read in Ezekiel 20:12 “moreover, also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctify them.’ At this point, many will say ‘Yeah, but…the Old Testament is for the Jews, only the Jews are required to keep the 7th day.” However, we read in the New Testament that Jesus, the Messiah, the Son of God, who was the creator God of Genesis (John 1:1-20; Col. 1:12-29; and Hebrews 1:1-3) also observed the seventh day as the Sabbath. We have proof of this in Mark 2:23-26 and in v. 27 “and he (Jesus) said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. V. 28-Therefore the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath.’ We also read in Matthew 12:8 ‘For the Son of Man is Lord even of the Sabbath Day.’ We see in Luke 4:16-‘And as His (Jesus) custom was He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and stood up for to read.’ I recently watched a famous TV evangelist trying to explain away the 7th Day Sabbath by claiming since Jesus rose on Sunday (which He did not) that Sunday became holy and became the new covenant Sabbath. This can not be found in scripture. Many will go to Colossians 2:14-16 to explain how the law of God, including the Sabbath Day was nailed to Jesus’ cross. No, it was those things in Colossians 2:8 that Jesus nailed to his starous (stake). I recently did a 2 part Bible Study on Colossians 2 that I will send to you free of charge. proving what it was that Jesus was doing away with, and it was not the 10 commandments.(These two sermons are also available on our Streaming Audio page 2.) We can read throughout the book of Acts that the Apostle Paul taught in the synagogues on the 7th day, and this was after Jesus’ death. (Acts 17:1-4.) It would seem foolish to believe that Jesus would observe the 7th day and then command His followers to observe Sunday. The Roman Catholic Church claims they changed the day of worship from Saturday to Sunday by divine decree. They then chide the Protestants that they have no basis for observing Sunday except through the Catholic Church. If you wonder where the Catholic church got this from, read the history of Constantine, who though called a Christian, was a pagan all of his life until his so-called conversion. Many Christians today believe that Jesus will soon return to the earth to establish the Kingdom of God. Which day do you suppose will be the day of worship for those who are His Saints, and for the rest of the remaining people left after the great tribulation? In the book of Isaiah we read a prophecy that tells us when God will be worshipped in the millennium. It is found in Isaiah 66:22-24. In v. 23 “And it shall come to pass that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.’ One final question? Do you keep God’s ten commandments? You don’t if you are not observing or keeping the fourth one – “Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy.” Both the house of Israel and the house of Judah went into a national captivity because they refused to keep God’s commandments, laws, statutes, judgments and ordinances. They stopped observing the day that was the sign between God and them. Let’s conclude with Yahweh’s words in Deuteronomy 12:29-32. It is written in v. 30 “Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee. And that thou inquire not after their gods, saying, ‘how did these nations serve their gods? Even so will I do likewise. V. 31- Thou shalt not do so unto the Lord thy God. For every abomination to the Lord, which He hateth, have they done unto their gods. For even their sons and their daughters have they burnt in the fire to their gods. V. 32 What thing so ever I will command you, observe to do it. Thou shalt not add thereto, nor diminish from it.’ Today there is a mix-mash of religions in the United States, with many claiming the right to religious freedom. We read in Exodus 12:49 ‘One law shall be to him that is home born, and unto the stranger that sojourneth (lives) among you.’ We see this also in Numbers 9:14 and Numbers 15:16. This is still true today. In Heb. 13:8 ‘Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today and forever.’ In Malachi 3:6 ‘For I am the Lord, I change not, therefore ye sons of Jacob are not consumed.’ Why not open your Bible and read in the New Testament in Hebrews 4:1-11, how that the 7th day Sabbath is a type of that rest. We can read again in Exodus 19:6 where God told Israel “Ye shall be unto me a kingdom of priests and an holy nation. Is it just a coincidence that Peter when addressing the New Testament Church of God in I Peter 2:5 said “Ye also, as lively stones, are built up a spiritual house, an holy priesthood, to offer up spiritual sacrifices, acceptance to God by Jesus Christ.” And in v. 9 “An ye are a chosen generation, a royal priesthood, an holy nation…” We read in Revelation 1:6 “And hath made us kings and priests unto God and His Father.” Would it be conceivable that this “Holy Priesthood” would be observing Sunday, while Jesus, the High Priest after the order of Melchisedec would observe the 7th day Sabbath? Maybe it is time you proved which day is God’s Sabbath Day My wife and I have been observing the 7th Day Sabbath for nearly 50 years. I can’t conceive of keeping any other day because I believe the Sabbath is a sign between God and His people, both with Old Testament Israel and the New Testament Church.
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