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Remember the Sabbath is a PROPHECY!
***What Does Exodus 20:8 TRULY mean?
Here is Exodus 20:8 from the KJV. “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Does Exodus 20:8 PROVE that we as Christians must, without fail, keep the WEEKLY Sabbath day holy, lest we sin?
In other words, does this verse of Scripture prove that the Bible teaches Sabbatarianism, which teaches that every person from Adam to the end of the 1000-year reign of Jesus must keep all of the Law of Moses to the letter of the law lest we sin?
No! Absolutely not! For you see, according to Galatians 3:19, the Law of Moses was given to the children of Israel under the Old Covenant until the seed, speaking of the Messiah, came to be God’s New Covenant.
And in Exodus 20:8, there is a hidden PROPHECY of Jesus becoming the Lord of the Sabbath, the 1000 Sabbath of Yahweh during the world to come.
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Exodus 20:8 is a PROPHECY of Jesus as Out TRUE Rest!
Does Exodus 20:8 mean that God gave the commandment to keep the weekly Sabbath day Holy BEFORE the Law of Moses?
In other words, was the commandment of the Sabbath day given to ALL people beginning with Adam and Eve at creation?
Or does Exodus 20:8 mean something else entirely different?
And if it does NOT mean that God gave the commandment BEFORE the Law of Moses, then what does Exodus 20:8 TRULY mean in the LIGHT of the WHOLE word of Almighty God?
Let us begin this study in God’s word by reading Exodus 20:8 out of its CONTEXT first with emphasis added to the word “REMEMBER”, because that is what the Seventh Day Adventist Church and all other seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping church denominations do.
They take verses of Scripture OUT of their CONTEXT and twist the Scriptures to try and support their own personal interpretation of the Scriptures claiming that they alone have the correct interpretation of the Scriptures.
So then, let us read Exodus 20:8 out of its context first, and then we will read Exodus 20:8 again being left in its context to learn its true SOUND Biblical meaning.
Exodus 20:8 out of its context.
“REMEMBER the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.”
Now, the Seventh Day Adventist Church, which I will abbreviate as the SDA Church, as well as, every other seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping church denomination, INTERPRET Exodus 20:8 OUT of its CONTEXT to try to prove that the weekly Sabbath day commandment was given to ALL people BEFORE the Law of Moses.
In other words, they claim that the Law of Moses was WRITTEN down and given to the children of Israel Exodus chapter 20 so that they can REMEMBER the TEN commandments given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
In other words, they REASON that since God says the words “remember” the Sabbath day to keep it holy, they then emphasize the word “REMEMBER” the Sabbath day to argue that you cannot remember something that did not ALREADY exist BEFORE God gave the TEN commandments to Moses in Exodus chapter 20.
Please do not take offense at me for quoting what the SDA teaching of Exodus 20:8 dogmatically insists, saying in their SDA article that you cannot “remember” the Sabbath day if the Sabbath did not already exist BEFORE God gave Moses the TEN commandments.
For you see, ALL seventh-day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians do the same thing. They “PARROT” or repeat what the leaders of their church denomination has taught them to believe.
In other words, they do not CARE how other Christians interpret this verse of Scripture or any other Scripture in the Bible.
So be PATIENT when sharing the TRUTH to Sabbath-keeping Christians for you, it may seem that they do not hear a word you are saying.
However, trust and know that the Holy Spirit always honors the TRUTH. Their “spirit” is hearing what you tell them.
And the Holy Spirit WILL lead and guide them into all truth in time.
Now, in truth, the SDA Church interpretation is not at all what Exodus 20:8 is truly teaching in the light of the whole word of Almighty God.
Yes, it is saying to remember what God taught the children of Israel for the very first time in Exodus chapter 16, which was how to keep the Sabbath by resting on the seventh day.
And yes, chapter 16 is before chapter 20, which was when God gave the Law of Moses to give the TEN commandments in WRITING to the children of Israel.
But that is not all that the Hebrew word translated as “REMEMBER” means.
And the context clearly teaches us that NEITHER Exodus 20:8 NOR Exodus 16:28 teach that God gave the TEN commandments to Adam in the Garden of Eden BEFORE God gave the TEN commandments to Moses to be given to the children of Israel in Exodus chapter 20 for the very FIRST time ever.
Again, every false teaching starts by taking verses of Scripture OUT of its CONTEXT. Satan will always mix a little truth from the Scriptures and then twist what God said into a LIE.
So, all false teaching comes from Satan which the Bible calls the doctrines of devils in 1 Timothy 4:1-6.
Please read 1 Timothy 4:1-6.
“Now the Spirit speaks expressly, that in the latter times some shall depart from the faith, giving heed to seducing spirits, and doctrines of devils;
1 Timothy 4:2. Speaking lies in hypocrisy; (The Greek word translated as “hypocrisy” means speaking lies in deceit bringing condemnation on others by using MISREPRESENTATION or dissimulation) having their conscience seared with a hot iron; (In today’s terms we would call this brainwashing which is when a person is conditioned to believe something by way of repeatedly hearing the same thing over and over and not being aloud to hear other interpretations.
The Greek word translated as seared means that their way of thinking has been rendered INSENSITIVE to the way others think.
In other words, Christians that have given heed to a seducing spirit of false teaching to allow their minds to become seared, do not CARE what other Christians believe and teach.
So then, one sign that you might be being deceived is your having an “unteachable” attitude that you are above being able to be deceived.
Paul warns us in 2 Corinthians 8:2 that if any man thinks that he knows anything, he knows nothing yet AS he OUGHT to know.
Paul goes on to give us a few examples of Christians who HAVE their minds SEARED because they gave heed to seducing spirits to believe and now teach the same LIES of Satan to do the following)
1 Timothy 4:3. Forbidding to marry, (Like the Roman Catholic Church does) and commanding to abstain from meats, (Like the Roman Catholic Church and ALL seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches do) which God has created to be received with thanksgiving of them which believe and know the truth. (So then, clearly, the SDA and all other seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians do NOT know the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of God concerning WHICH Covenant to OBEY.
For you see, ALL Sabbath-keeping churches wrongly teach their followers to ABSTAIN from meat by teaching them to follow and obey the DIETARY laws in the Old Testament Law of God written in the Law of Moses concerning the OLD Covenant..
Some Sabbath churches, including the SDA Church, teach their followers to become complete vegetarians.
And they also look down on the Christians who are not vegetarians.
They argue that the vegetarian diet was BEFORE the Law of Moses, which is true in some cases, but that is not the WHOLE truth.
For you see, later on after the Garden of Eden, God gave certain meats to eat.
And then, under the New Covenant written in the New Testament ALL manners of meat have been cleansed by God and Christians are free to eat any and all different kinds of meat. But the weekly Sabbath day Christians, having their minds seared with misguided false teaching, command or INSTRUCT their followers to ABSTAIN from eating meat, and or, certain types of meat, such as pork.
And thus, the SDA Church along with all of the other seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians, are teaching FALSE doctrines of devils, according to verse 1 here in 1 Timothy chapter 4 and the rest of the New Covenant written in the New Testament.
So then, under the New Covenant we as Christians are NOT to teach Christians to ABSTAIN from eating meat.
For you see, the Greek word translated as COMMANDING them to abstain from meat is not in the original text like it is in verse 11.
I have heard the Sabbath argument that they do not COMMAND anyone to keep the dietary Law of Moses and that they only instruct and urge their followers to abstain from meat.
But you see, that is exactly what the Greek word translated as command in verse 11 means.
It means to transmit a message, to charge, and to enjoin.
And the word enjoin means to instruct and urge someone to do something which in this case is urging their followers to ABSTAIN for eating meat that Paul is teaching us NOT to forbid the eating of any kind of meat)
2 Corinthians 8:4. For (Or for you see) EVERY creature of God is GOOD, and NOTHING to be refused, if it be received with thanksgiving: (In other words, God CLEANSED all manners of meat to be eaten and no kind of meat is to be refused or taught to be unclean. God told the Apostle Peter in Acts 10 three times to no longer call anything unclean which God has CLEANSED)
1 Timothy 4:5. For it (Or BECAUSE it speaking of all manners of MEAT) is sanctified by the word of God and prayer.
1 Timothy 4:6. If you put the brethren in remembrance of these things, you shall be a good minister of Jesus Christ, nourished up in the words of faith and of good doctrine, where unto you have attained.”
So then, ALL seventh-day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians including the SDA Christians are DISOBEDIENT children of God because they are breaking the commandments of Jesus under the New Covenant written in the New Testament.
And do you know that the disobedient children will suffer the wrath of God and not be raptured at the coming of Jesus, according to Ephesians 5:1-11 and Colossians 3:6-10?
Did you know that corrupt communication also includes corrupt PREACHING and corrupt teaching and that Ephesians 4:29 warns us to NOT allow any corrupt communication out of our mouth?
So just talking to others about keeping the weekly Sabbath, with the intent of urging or persuading them to keep the Sabbath day, is corrupt communication.
Now, I realize that most false teaching is done out of ignorance, and by ignorance, I mean that Christians who have been deceived to believe and teach false doctrine, having their minds seared.
In other words, most Christians who teach false doctrine sincerely believe in their minds that they are communicating or preaching the truth.
However, SOME church denominational leaders know full well that they are teaching some things that are NOT in agreement with what the Bible itself teaches and the SDA Church is one of those churches.
It is easy to point the finger at other church denominations like the Jehovah’s Witnesses where it is known that some of the LEADERS of the Watch Tower Bible and Tract Society know full well that some of the doctrines that they teach are not sound biblical doctrines.
But when it comes to a Christians own church denomination they are naive to think that the leaders of their church denomination would deliberately keep on teaching a church doctrine that they know to be false teaching.
The SDA Church has a doctrine called “The Investigative Judgment” which some of the leaders of the SDA Church know full well is NOT found anywhere in the Bible.
And they also know that the doctrine of the “Investigative Judgment” contradicts what the bible itself teaches.
Plus, the leaders and makers of the SDA doctrines know that Investigative Judgment doctrine contradicts other SDA doctrine.
Please read: Dd-60. Is the Investigative Judgment BIBLICAL?
So, then the SDA doctrine of the “In investigative Judgment” CONTRADICTS the teaching in the New Testament that Satan has already been judged, at the cross by the one faithful WITNESS, Jesus Christ, and that Jesus is the ONLY atonement for the sins of the world.
But that is for another study so let us get back to the word “REMEMBER” the Sabbath to learn the true sound Biblical meaning of the word “REMEMBER”.
Here is how E-Sword defines the Hebrew word that is translated as “remember” in most Bible translations.
Before we read the Biblical meaning of the word “remember” please know and understand that just because “most” Bible translations use the English word “remember” does NOT mean that they are correctly translating the Hebrew word “zakar”.
Some Bible translations correctly translate this Hebrew word as “OBSERVE” the Sabbath.
Please read Exodus 20:8 from the Good News Translation. Exodus 20:8 (GNT)
“OBSERVE the Sabbath and keep it holy.”
And here is Exodus 20:8 from the New Living Translation. Exodus 20:8 (NLT)
“Remember TO OBSERVE the Sabbath day by keeping it HOLY.”
Now, one can interpret the English word “OBSERVE” to mean KEEP the Sabbath but that is not what the word “observe” means in the English language.
The English word “observe” means to NOTICE or PERCEIVE something and register it as being SIGNIFICANT.
In other words, to observe the Sabbath means to perceive that the weekly Sabbath was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations as a SIGN pointing to Jesus as their Messiah.
You will see why I say that these translations above have CORRECTLY translated the Hebrew word “zakar” as observe the Sabbath as opposed to “remember” to keep the Sabbath.
In other words, to “interpret” the phrase “remember the Sabbath” to mean that the Sabbath was instituted by God BEFORE the Law of Moses, and thus, conclude the following.
God MUST have given the commandment of keeping the weekly Sabbath to all humans beginning at Adam and Eve at creation.
This is called TWISTING the Scriptures to fit one’s own personal interpretation of the Scripture by reading INTO the Scripture what they already believe.
And as you continue reading this study in God’s word you will see that I am correct in saying that God gave the weekly Sabbath day ONLY to the children of Israel AFTER God delivered them from bondage out of the land of Egypt.
And when I say God’s word, I mean the WHOLE word of God and NOT simply taking verses of Scripture OUT of their CONTEXT as the SDA Church and all other Sabbath churches do.
Again, here is how E-Sword defines the Hebrew word “zakar” that is incorrectly translated as “remember” in most translations of the Bible.
H2142
זָכַר
zâkar
zaw-kar'
A primitive root; properly to mark (so as to be recognized), that is, to remember; by implication to mention; also (as denominative from H2145) to be male: - X burn [incense], X earnestly, be male, (make) mention (of), be mindful, recount, record (-er), remember, make to be remembered, bring (call, come, keep, put) to (in) remembrance, X still, think on, X well.
Notice that the true meaning of this Hebrew word is that we are to MARK the Sabbath as something to be recognized.
In other words, we are to OBSERVE the Sabbath to learn WHY the weekly Sabbath day was given in the first place.
The weekly Sabbath was given as a SIGN. A sign to what? Notice that the Hebrew word “zakar” also means “male”.
So THINK of the Sabbath as being a SIGN pointing to the male child born of the Virgin Mary, the SON of Almighty God who was made both Lord and Christ after the cross.
The word “Christ” means anointed but it also means Messiah or Savior, and Jesus was not yet the Messiah, until he became obedient to lay down his own life or his own free will to die on the cross.
So then, to remember that Sabbath means to observe or perceive that the weekly Sabbath was given as a SIGN pointing to Jesus as the Messiah, the true bread from heaven.
You will see that this is the true sound Biblical meaning of Exodus 20:8 and Exodus chapter 16 where the manna is a FIGURE of Jesus being the TRUE manna or the TRUE bread from heaven as you continue reading this study in God’s word.
Let us now read this verse from a LITERAL word for word translation so that you can see that “it” referring to the Sabbath “day” was given so that the children of Israel would RECOGNIZE Jesus as their Messiah.
Please notice that the pronoun “it” is translated as the pronoun “him” in the literal translation.
I will also add some emphasis and comments, and then I will explain the comments and the emphasis after we read the literal translation of Exodus 20:8.
Here is the LITERAL translation of Exodus 20:8.
“TO remember >> (ath, or The weekly Sabbath was give to remember Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) day of Sabbath to hallow (Or to make Holy) HIM.”
In other words, the fourth commandment was given to the children of Israel as a SIGN or as a schoolmaster to lead them to recognize Jesus as their Messiah, according to Galatians 3:21-29.
Also, please notice that I emphasized the word “to” because verse 8 is actually a continuation of verse 7, which is the THIRD commandment to NOT take the Lord’s NAME in VAIN.
In other words, do not take Jesus as your Lord and Savior in VAIN by keeping the LETTER of the Law of Moses.
Keep in mind that there were no chapters and verse numbers in the original text.
And by the way, was the THIRD commandment given BEFORE the Law of Moses?
You see, all of the TEN commandments are the very CONTEXT of Exodus 20:8 which they take OUT of CONTEXT.
So then, I want you to see how the SDA Church, and other Sabbath-keeping Christians, take verses of Scripture OUT of their CONTEXT and read INTO those verses their own personal interpretation of what they already believe.
And then, what they do is, they look for verses of Scripture to TRY to support their man-made doctrine that all Christians must keep the weekly Sabbath DAY as the children of Israel did under the Old Covenant written in the Law of Moses.
Now, think this through for yourselves dear children of God. If so be that if God instituted the weekly Sabbath BEFORE the Law of Moses, then how did anyone keep the weekly Sabbath as the Jews, according to the Law of Moses BEFORE there were any chosen people of God?
The TRUTH of the matter is that God did NOT institute the weekly Sabbath BEFORE the Law of Moses.
Yet, the weekly Sabbath keeping Christians try to argue that God gave the keeping of the weekly Sabbath day to Adam.
However, that Sabbatarian teaching comes from INTERPRETING the Scriptures OUT of their CONTEXT and by NOT comparing Scripture with Scripture to see if their interpretation contradicts any other part of God’s word.
In truth, Exodus chapter 16 is actually Moses TEACHING the children of Israel HOW to rest on the seventh day for the very first time.
I will explain in detail the whole chapter 16 of Exodus in another study called Dd-7. WHAT DOES EXODUS 16:28-30 TRULY MEAN?
And in that study, anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear, can see Jesus all through Exodus chapter 16 to understand WHY the weekly Sabbath was given to the children of Israel in the first place.
So then, by our CORRECTLY discerning the TRUE meaning of WHY the weekly Sabbath day was given to the children of Israel by Moses, at Mount Sinai, then our FAITH in Jesus will NOT be in VAIN.
For you see, to take or receive the Lord’s NAME in VAIN, which is the third commandment that God gave to the children of Israel in Exodus 20:7, at the same time God gave the fourth commandment, is to not TRULY REST is Jesus and the New Covenant.
This may be new to some Christians that Jesus came in the Lord’s NAME and that the name Yeshua means Yahweh saves or the salvation of Yahweh.
So for all the Scriptures that teach us that the name of Yahweh is symbolically referring to our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ as a hidden prophecy or a schoolmaster to lead the Jews to recognize Jesus as their Messiah, please read the study Dd-19. WHAT DOES TAKING THE LORD’S NAME IN VAIN MEAN?
But for now, please understand and know that the whole Bible is all pointing to Jesus as the MESSIAH that Yahweh raised up among the people of Israel to reconcile the world back to Himself through His Messiah who we as Christians know to be Jesus the Son of the living God.
So then, both the THIRD and the FOURTH commandments should be read together as one commandment to NOT take or receive Jesus as your Lord and Savior in VAIN.
And the way to not take Jesus is VAIN is by RECOGNIZING that the weekly Sabbath DAY as well as the yearly Sabbath feast days were given to ONLY the children of Israel for them to keep throughout THEIR generations as a SIGN or as a schoolmaster pointing the Jews to HALLOW Jesus as their Messiah.
And when the Jewish Christians truly see that Jesus is their Sabbath REST they know and understand to CEASE from their works of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES to not take the Lord’s name in VAIN any longer.
With that being said, what did the Apostle Paul teach us in the New Testament concerning those Christians who were believing in Jesus in VAIN?
Paul says that they were keeping the Law of Moses, as in, they were keeping the yearly Sabbath days, the new moon festivals, the dietary laws written in the Law of Moses, and the weekly Sabbath days.
And Paul says they were FALLEN from grace, according to Galatians 5:4, and that they did not keep in memory the true gospel that Paul preached unto them, according to 1 Corinthians 15:2.
Paul beseeched Christians to NOT receive the grace of God in VAIN, according to 2 Corinthians 6:1.
Paul said that if righteousness comes by the LAW then Christ died in VAIN which means Jesus died for no purpose to those who keep the Law of Moses, including the weekly Sabbath day.
Please read Colossians 2:4-23.
“And this I say, lest any man should beguile you with enticing words. (Or I am telling you this for fear that someone has mislead or deceived you by using persuasive words)
Colossians 2:5. For though I be absent in the flesh, yet am I with you in the spirit, joying and beholding your order, and the steadfastness of your faith in Christ. (As opposed to your belief in keeping the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that Jesus abolished on the cross, according to Ephesians 2:15)
Colossians 2:6. As you have, therefore, received Christ Jesus the Lord, so walk you in him:
Colossians 2:7. Rooted and built up in him, and established in the FAITH, as you have been taught, abounding therein with thanksgiving. (So then, what is the TRUE faith? Is what Jesus taught the Apostle Paul the TRUE faith, the true gospel?
Or is what the man-made SDA Church denomination and the other Sabbath-keeping church denominations teach the true faith?
Keep in mind that the teaching of all Sabbath churches CONTRADICT what the Apostle Paul teaches.
So, do not try to TWIST the words of the Apostle Paul to fit your own interpretation of the Scriptures.
Paul is WARNING the Christians who have been DECEIVED to keep the Law of Moses in ADDITION to believing in Jesus as their Lord and Savior)
Colossians 2:8. BEWARE lest any man spoil you through philosophy and VAIN deceit, after the tradition of men, after the rudiments of the world, and NOT after Christ. (Again, is the traditional teaching of Ellen G. White, the revered prophet of the SDA Church, teaching you the TRUTH of the whole word of Almighty God Himself?
Or is she teaching you her OWN personal INTERPRETATION of the word of God by her taking verses of Scripture OUT of the CONTEXT?
Remember what we just read at the beginning of this study in 1 Timothy 4:1-4 about the doctrine of forbidding the eating of meat as being a doctrine of devils!
And if you are truly being honest with yourself and with Almighty God and His Son Jesus, then you know that the SDA Church teaches their followers to ABSTAIN from eating meat.
And other Sabbath-keeping church denominations teach their followers to not eat unclean meat as instructed in the Law of Moses under the Old Covenant.
But, we as Christians are NOT under the Old Covenant, but rather, we are under the New Covenant and the commandments that we must obey and the teachings that we are to follow and teach to others are written in the New Testament)
Colossians 2:9. For in him dwells all the fullness of the Godhead bodily. (Speaking of the Son of MAN being made Lord of the Sabbath after the cross, according to Acts 2:36)
Colossians 2:10. And you ARE complete in Him, which is the head of all principality and power:
Colossians 2:11. In whom also you are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: (Please notice that the CONTEXT is about NOT being deceived to keep the Law of Moses contained in ordinances.
Also, notice that the law of circumcision was NOT abolished, but rather, it was the WAY in which the law of circumcision used to be kept under the Old Covenant that was abolished at the cross.
In other words, the WAY in which the law of circumcision was kept under the Old Covenant that God made with Abraham and had Moses write down some four hundred years later has been abolished and CHANGED to God’s new WAY of keeping the law of circumcision under the New Covenant.
Again, the WAY under the Old Covenant was the cutting of the flesh made with human hands.
But the NEW WAY of keeping the law of circumcision under the New Covenant is by our FAITH in Jesus as being our circumcision NOT made with hands.
Can you not see that we as Christians ARE KEEPING the LAW of circumcision by our faith in Jesus as being our circumcision not made with hands?
And in the same way, we as Christians ARE KEEPING the TRUE Sabbath by our faith in Jesus as our REST. Now this does NOT mean that Christians do not have to keep the Ten Commandments.
In other words, Jesus did not keep all the moral commandments of God FOR us, and therefore, we do not have to keep the moral commandments.
That is another false teaching by the grace alone reformed Christians that wrongly teach the once saved always saved doctrine of devils)
Colossians 2:12. Buried with Him in baptism, wherein also you are risen with Him through the faith of the operation of God, who has raised Him from the dead.
Colossians 2:13. And you, being dead in your sins and the uncircumcision of your flesh, has He quickened together with Him, having forgiven you all trespasses;
Colossians 2:14. Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances (Speaking of the WORKS of keeping the law of the commandments of God contained in ORDINANCE being abolished and blotted out at the cross.
You see, the WORKS that the Apostle Paul is referring to in Ephesians 2:8-9 are the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that Paul clearly teaches us were abolished at the cross in Ephesians 2:15, the very CONTEXT of by grace you are saved through faith and not of WORKS lest any man should boast.
The WORKS that we are not saved by are the handwriting of Moses contained in ORDINANCES) that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Colossians 2:15. And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a show of them openly, triumphing over them in it. (Now some seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians INTERPRET the “hand writings of the ordinance that was against us” as being what God wrote down in the book of life as being all of the sins that were against us.
However, that is another doctrine of devils because the very next verse says, THEREFORE, which means for this very reason that the handwriting of the ORDINANCES that was AGAINST us before the cross, but is NOW taken out of the way being nailed to the cross.
So, therefore, let no man JUDGE you for NOT keeping the handwriting of ORDINANCES that Jesus nailed to the cross.
In other words, because the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES was abolished and nailed to the cross it would be WRONG to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY as a DAY of OBLIGATION)
Colossians 2:16. Let no man, therefore, JUDGE you (Concerning those ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross) in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Colossians 2:17. WHICH (Speaking of ALL the ORDINANCES written in the Law of Moses that were nailed to the cross) are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ. (Meaning that all the ORDINANCES written in the Law of Moses were a SCHOOLMASTER to lead the children of Israel to RECOGNIZE Jesus as their Aleph Tav Messiah.
In other words, the Law of Moses contained in ordinances POINT to Jesus as being the Messiah and that was their PURPOSE.
And once Christ came and was MADE Lord by the CROSS or because of his obedience to lay down his own life of his own free will to die on the cross for the sins of the whole world we are no longer under the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES. Therefore)
Colossians 2:18. Let no man beguile you of your reward in a voluntary humility and worshiping of angels, intruding into those things which he has not seen, VAINLY puffed up by his fleshly mind, (Keep in mind that Paul said that even if an angel teaches you any other gospel than the TRUE gospel that I, Paul, am teaching you, then do NOT believe that angel or the people who tell you that an angel of God revealed this truth to me)
Colossians 2:19. And not holding the Head, from which all the body by joints and bands having nourishment ministered, and knit together, increases with the increase of God.
Colossians 2:20. Wherefore, if you be dead with Christ (Or if you are SAVED then you are dead with Christ and being dead with Jesus in baptism you are dead) from the rudiments of the world, (And seeing that you are dead to the rudiments of the world speaking of the ceremonial services to God, under the Old Covenant written in ORDINANCES, then) WHY, as though living in the world, are you SUBJECT to ORDINANCES,
Colossians 2:21. (Touch not; taste not; handle not;
Colossians 2:22. Which all are to perish with the using;) after the commandments and doctrines of men? (The doctrines of men are referring to another gospel that is a PERVERTED gospel that is in VAIN.
And thus, the Christians USING or following that perverted gospel, are fallen from grace.
For you see, Paul is talking about Christians who are following the false teaching of being SUBJECT to the ORDINANCES because they are WILLINGLY following after the commandments of God written in the Law of Moses, CONTAINED in ORDINANCES that Jesus abolished at the cross.
And those who are to PERISH are those Christians who follow after the commandments and the doctrines of MEN who are wrongly teaching them to be SUBJECT to the ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way)
Colossians 2:23. Which things have indeed a show of wisdom, in will worship, and humility, (Now, anyone with eyes to see and ears to hear can plainly see that our SINS that were forgiven are NOT a show of wisdom, in will worship.
Therefore, the INTERPRETATION of some Sabbath Christians that the handwriting of ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way was our SINS, is just another LIE that Satan has deceived the Sabbath-keeping Christians with.
So then, the commandments and doctrines of men are speaking of the perverted gospel compelling Christians to keep the Law of Moses contained in ordinances that were nailed to the cross.
In other words, it is good that the Sabbath-keeping Christians are SHOWING that they are WILLING to worship God in humility) and neglecting of the body; not in any honor to the satisfying of the flesh.”
However, they are being DISOBEDIENT to the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ.
Now, the SDA Church understands that Christians are NOT to keep the feast days.
They understand that all the feast days are shadows pointing to Jesus and that they were nailed to the cross.
But yet, they argue that Paul is not talking about the WEEKLY Sabbath day in this passage of Scripture or in other passages of Scripture in the New Testament.
However, the SDA Church also compels their followers to keep the DIETARY laws contained in ordinances written in the Law of Moses, which is in the same context of the Sabbaths.
Many SDA Christians are complete vegetarians and there is nothing wrong with being a vegetarian.
But what is wrong is compelling or urging Christians that they should be vegetarians or that they only eat certain kinds of meats to better please God.
Please read 1 Corinthians 8:8.
“But meat commends us NOT to God: for neither, if we eat, are we the better; NEITHER, if we eat NOT, are we the worse.”
In other words, eating meat has nothing to do whatsoever with being more pleasing to God under the New Covenant written in the New Testament.
Now, if you enjoy being a vegetarian because you believe that by doing so that you will be healthier, then God does not condemn you for not eating meat.
BUT if you do not eat meat because you believe it is wrong to eat meat based upon the Old Testament then you do not know the TRUTH of the whole word of Almighty God.
You are exalting the Old Testament ABOVE the teachings of Jesus in the New Testament under the New Covenant.
Let us read Colossians again so you can see that the keeping of the WEEKLY Sabbath DAY was also nailed to the cross and taken out of the way, just the same as all the feast days and the dietary laws were nailed to the cross and taken out of the way.
Notice that the Apostle Paul has listed FOUR categories that are taught in the Old Testament under the Old Covenant.
Colossians 2:16,17.
“Let no man, therefore, judge you in meat, or in drink, (Referring to all the dietary laws written in the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES) Or in respect of an holyday, Or of the new moon, (Referring to all the yearly feast days and festivals written in the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES) Or of the sabbath days: (Referring to the WEEKLY Sabbath days written in the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES)
Colossians 2:17. Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Now, again, the SDA Church agrees that the YEARLY feast day Sabbaths are NOT to be kept by Christians.
They also understand that Christians are NOT to keep the new moon monthly festivals.
But yet, they argue that Christians SHOULD keep the dietary laws written in the Law of Moses or the Pentateuch, the first five books of the Old Testament, also called the Torah.
And they teach that it is a MUST that Christians keep the weekly Sabbath day because it is one of the TEN Commandments.
Keep in mind that to all seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians, the TEN Commandments are elevated above all of the other commandments of Almighty God written in the Old Testament.
And that is why they do not keep ALL of the 613 commandments written in the Old Testament.
But the Apostle James teaches us that even if ONE commandment or one POINT of the law of God is broken or not kept, then the WHOLE law is broken.
Please read James 2:10.
“For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.”
Now, some Sabbath-keeping Christians use this verse of Scripture OUT of its CONTEXT to persuade Christians that they MUST keep the FOURTH commandment.
Their argument is that if Christians offend or break even ONE of the TEN Commandments then they are found GUILTY before God as if they are breaking them all of the TEN Commandments.
However, the CONTEXT of James 2:10 is about Christians who are enticing other Christians with PERSUASIVE words to compel them to keep the Law of Moses.
Please read the context of this verse of Scripture so you can see that James is contrasting two different groups of Christians, those who are obeying the TRUE gospel of Jesus Christ and those who are DISOBEYING the true gospel by keeping the Law of Moses.
Please read James 2:7-24.
“Do not they blaspheme that worthy name by the which you are called? (Or do not they take Yahweh’s NAME in VAIN by which you and they are called?
James says yes, they are blaspheming the worthy name of Jesus, for you see)
James 2:8. If you fulfil the royal law according to the Scripture, You shall love your neighbor as yourself, you do well: (Why does James say that Christians who keep the royal law of Jesus according to the Scripture under the New Covenant written in the New Testament are doing well or doing good?
It is because that is ALL that God REQUIRES us to do under the new Covenant.
Jesus teaches us to OBEY God walk in LOVE toward one another. And by walking in LOVE toward one another, we FULFILL all the MORAL commandments of Almighty God, according to Matthew 22:36-40, Romans 8:10-13, Galatians 5:6-14, and James 2:8.
But James is talking about a deeper meaning of walking in love and that there is more to walking in love than just keeping the MORAL commandments.
In other words, James is saying what about the GOOD WORKS that God created us, as new creatures in Jesus Christ to DO?
Should we not also do GOOD WORKS to help the POOR if we have the means to help them?)
James 2:9. But if you have respect to persons, you commit sin, and are convinced of the law as transgressors. (Here we see James CONTRASTING the keeping of the ROYAL law under the New Covenant with the keeping of the Law of Moses under the Old Covenant.
The Jewish Christians already knew that under the Old Covenant that if one broke even one point of the law then they were guilty of all the law.
So they respected the Christians that kept the Law of Moses and they JUDGED the Christians that did NOT keep the Law of Moses as not being saved.
And this is what almost all Sabbath-keeping churches do. They only accept you as a true Christian if you keep the weekly Sabbath day.
And they JUDGE all other Christians as either not being true Christians or as disobedient Christians.
And again, they use the next verse to argue that Christians MUST keep the FOURTH commandment lest they sin and are disobedient Christians.
To me it is wrong to judge a Christian, of not being a true Christian, if that Christian sins.
But not keeping the LETTER of the law of the fourth commandment is NOT a SIN because ALL Christians ARE keeping the SPIRIT of the law of the fourth commandment by our FAITH in Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST)
James 2:10. For whosoever shall keep the whole law, and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
James 2:11. For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law.
James 2:12. So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty. (The law of LIBERTY is the ROYAL law under the New Covenant written in the New Testament, which is to walk in LOVE.
And, thereby, our walking in love toward one another we FULFILL all the commandments of God.
But again, James is teaching us that there is MORE to walking in love and keeping all the MORAL commandments of God.
James is teaching us that we should also have good WORKS such as showing mercy to help the poor rather than having respect of persons to only fellowship with the rich Christians who have nice clothes instead of worn out clothes)
James 2:13. For he shall have judgment without mercy, that has shown no mercy; and mercy rejoices against judgment.
James 2:14. What does it profit, my brethren, though a man say he has faith, and have not works? Can faith save him? (Or can faith ALONE save us?
Please know and understand that James is NOT speaking of the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.
But rather, James is talking about the works of LOVE to have compassion and show mercy toward one another.
Yes we do well by keeping the royal law, by obeying the moral commandments of God.
But our faith should ALSO have good WORKS or good DEEDS to others above and beyond the MORAL commandments.
And then James explains what he means by good WORKS in the following verses)
James 2:15. If a brother or sister be naked, and destitute of daily food,
James 2:16. And one of you say unto them, Depart in peace, be you warmed and filled; notwithstanding you give them NOT those things which are needful to the body; what does it profit?
James 2:17. Even so faith, if it has NOT works, is dead, being ALONE.
James 2:18. Yea, a man may say, You have faith, and I have works: show me your faith without your works, and I will show you my faith by my works. (So then, even in the first century in the days when the Apostles were still alive there were some GRACE ALONE Christians.
You see, the grace alone Christians argue that we are saved by grace ALONE and not by ANY works that we do or do not do.
But you see, the grace alone Christians have misunderstood the words of the Apostle Paul in Ephesians 2:8,9 saying that we are saved by GRACE through FAITH and NOT of WORKS lest any man should boast to mean no works whatsoever of any kind.
But what the once saved always saved Christians have failed to see that Paul is talking ONLY about the works of the Law of Moses contained in ORDINANCES that were abolish at the cross and taken out of the way, according to Ephesians 2:15, the very CONTEXT of Ephesians 2:8,9.
They have failed to see that Jesus did NOT abolish the MORAL commandments.
And they also fail to see that the very reason we are saved is to do GOOD WORKS, according to Ephesians 2:10 like James is talking about here in this passage of Scripture)
James 2:19. You believe that there is one God; you do well: the devils also believe, and tremble.
James 2:20. But will you know, O VAIN man, that faith without works is dead?
James 2:21. Was not Abraham our father justified by works, when he had offered Isaac his son upon the altar?
James 2:22. See you how (Or can you not see how) faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect? (In other words, if we truly believe the true gospel of Jesus Christ then we will OBEY the commandments of Jesus not only to keep the ROYAL law to walk in love and thus keep all the moral laws of God, but to also SHOW our love by our GOOD WORKS toward one another)
James 2:23. And the Scripture was fulfilled which says, Abraham believed God, and it was imputed unto him for righteousness: and he was called the Friend of God.
James 2:24. You see then how that by works a man is justified, and NOT by faith ONLY.”
You see, if Abraham said I BELIEVE You God that it is You who told me to offer my only son to You, and then if Abraham did not SHOW his faith by OBEYING God to offer his only son Isaac, then it would NOT have been imputed unto him for righteousness.
Jesus said in John 14:15 that if you love Me then you will keep My commandments. Jesus did NOT say if you love Me, then you will keep the Law of Moses.
Then Jesus also said in John 14:27,28 that if you do NOT love me then you will NOT keep my words.
And not one single word spoken or taught by Jesus himself teaches us to keep the weekly Sabbath day.
However, ALL of the MORAL laws are repeated several times throughout the entire New Testament.
But yet, there is not even one single verse of Scripture in the New Testament that TEACHES us with WORDS specifically saying that we are to keep the weekly Sabbath DAY as a day of REST.
All the verses where Paul went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day only prove that Paul went into the synagogue to PREACH the gospel of Jesus Christ, and the Jews PERSECUTED him.
Now if Paul was teaching them the SAME things that Jews have been taught all their lives under the Old Covenant, then WHY did the Jews PERSECUTE Paul?
I say this because the SDA Christians as well as all seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians TWIST Paul’s words to their own destruction as Peter teaches us in II Peter 3:14-18 which you can read on your own.
But for now, please know and understand that by trying to force the teachings of the Apostles of Jesus under the New Covenant written in the New Testament to agree with what the Old Testament teaches under the Old Covenant is TWISTING the Scripture to your own destruction.
In other words, by teaching that the weekly Sabbath was given to all nations BEFORE the Law of Moses was given ONLY to the children of Israel, is TWISTING the Scriptures.
Taking verses OUT of the CONTEXT in order to have a verse of Scripture support your own personal INTERPRETATION is TWISTING the Scriptures.
To say this another way, the SDA Church along with ALL of the other Sabbath-keeping church denominations use both Exodus 20:8 and Exodus 16:23 OUT of their CONTEXT.
And they take those verses out of their context in order to try and support their OWN personal INTERPRETATION that God gave the commandment to keep the weekly Sabbath, BEFORE the Law of Moses was given ONLY to the children of Israel.
And they do that so that they can argue that God gave the weekly Sabbath day to Adam and Eve at creation week.
Now, the ONLY reason that they do this is because they are TRYING to get around the FACT that ORDINANCES of all the CEREMONIAL commandments were abolished at the cross.
And thus, Christians MUST NOT keep ANY of the ORDINANCES of the Law of Moses, including the ORDINANCES of the CEREMONIAL fourth commandment lest our faith in Jesus be in VAIN and we fall from grace.
You see, some Sabbath-keeping Christians like the SDA Christians have had their spiritual eyes obeyed to see that the yearly feast day Sabbaths have indeed been nailed to the cross.
And if they are truly honest with themselves and with God then they would stop twisting the words of Paul to mean that Paul is teaching Christians to KEEP the weekly Sabbath day.
But Paul clearly teaches us in Romans 14 that we, as Christians, are NOT to esteem ANY day of the week above any other day.
But rather, we are to esteem every day alike. But yet, SDA Christians as well as all seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians HIGHLY esteem the weekly Sabbath day far above every other day of the week.
So, they are disobedient children of God by not obeying the teachings of Jesus that Jesus taught to the Apostle Paul.
Let us go back and read the CONTEXT of Exodus 20:8 which says in English to REMEMBER the Sabbath to keep it Holy, but in Hebrew it means to MARK the Sabbath as something to be recognized.
In other words, we are to OBSERVE the Sabbath to learn WHY the weekly Sabbath day was given in the first place.
First of all, the weekly Sabbath was given ONLY to the children of Israel for THEM to keep throughout THEIR generations as a SIGN to OBSERVE or perceive and understand as pointing to their Messiah Jesus.
This verse does NOT mean, call to your remembrance to obey the fourth commandment that was supposedly given BEFORE the Law of Moses was given.
But rather, it means that God desires the children of Israel to observe the fourth commandment by looking deeper into the Scripture to learn the true meaning of WHY He gave them the weekly Sabbath in the first place.
The CONTEXT of Exodus 20:8 clearly teaches us that God was talking to Moses and that Moses was talking to the children of Israel at the time that the weekly Sabbath was FIRST given to the children of Israel for the FIRST time.
Please read Exodus 20:1,2.
“And God spoke all these words, saying,
Exodus 20:2. I am the LORD your God, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage.”
So WHEN did Almighty God Yahweh speak ALL these words, including verse 20 in this very CONTEXT?
It was AFTER God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt.
Therefore, the SDA Church is DECEIVING its followers by taking verses OUT of their CONTEXT to try and support their OWN personal interpretation of the Scriptures, that the weekly Sabbath day was given at the creation week.
And that is called the doctrine of devils because their interpretation of the Scriptures CONTRADICTS what we are taught under the New Covenant written in the New Testament.
Some SDA Christians may argue and say that the Seventh Day Adventist Church does NOT use Exodus 20:8 to show that God established the Sabbath at the creation week.
So, here is a quote from an official Seventh Day Adventist website.
The following statements describe what the Seventh-day Adventist Church believes about the earth and humanity in the context of God’s ultimate plan of Creation.
“God has revealed in Scripture the authentic and historical account of His creative activity.
He created the universe, and in a recent six-day creation the Lord made “the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them” and rested on the seventh day.
Thus, He established the Sabbath as a perpetual memorial of the work He performed and completed during six literal days that together with the Sabbath constituted the same unit of time that we call a week today.
The first man and woman were made in the image of God as the crowning work of Creation, given dominion over the world, and charged with responsibility to care for it. When the world was finished it was “very good,” declaring the glory of God.
(Gen. 1-2; 1;5; Exod. 20:8-11; Ps. 19:1–6; 33:6, 33:9 Isa. 45:12, 18; Acts 17:24; Col. 1:16; Heb. 1:2; 11:3 Rev. 10:6; 14:7)”
And they use Exodus 20:8 to prove that it is referring back to Exodus chapter 16 which is true.
However, they take another verse in chapter 16 OUT of its CONTEXT to try to prove that the Law of God was given at creation week seeing that the children of Israel were being rebuked by God in Exodus 16:28,29 for NOT keeping His law and commandments.
Please read Exodus 16:28,29.
“And the LORD said unto Moses, How long refuse you to keep my commandments and my laws?
Exodus 16:29. See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath, therefore, he gives you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide you every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.”
Now, the SDA Church and other Sabbath-keeping churches INTERPRET these words to mean that the children of Israel could not have refused the commandments and laws of God if Yahweh had not yet given the entire human race His laws, commandments, and the weekly Sabbath day at creation week.
And that is because they have taken these two verses OUT of their CONTEXT. I will explain what I mean by this in the study called Dd-7. WHAT DOES EXODUS 16:28-30 TRULY MEAN?
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1, In the BEGINNING!
And also read the study called D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well.
Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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