The Holy Day of Worship - 215 - 222

215.  Was the seventh-day Sabbath given to the Jews only, or to man, as in everyone?

• Genesis 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.
• Genesis 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.
• Isaiah 56:6 Also the sons of the stranger, that join themselves to the LORD, to serve him, and to love the name of the LORD, to be his servants, every one that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of my covenant;
• Mark 2:27 And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:
• Mark 2:28 Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath.

Dear Creator God, the Sabbath was given to mankind from creation, and has been a blessing to all that love You and honor it. Even in the days when You called a special nation of Israel to be Your people, You honored those of other nations who took hold of Your covenant. Your Sabbath is designed for all humanity, to remind us of Your creation and redemptive work, so that we may rest in You.

216.  Did Jesus and His disciples keep the Sabbath, both before and after the cross?

• Luke 4:16 And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the sabbath day, and stood up for to read.
• Luke 23:56 And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.
• Acts 16:13 And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither .
• Acts 17:2 And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures,
• Acts 18:4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks.

Dear Jesus, Of You it was prophesied that You delight in the law of God, because it was written in Your heart. In Your earthly life, You honored the Sabbath and showed Your disciples how You wanted them to keep it, unlike the manmade restrictions imposed by the Jews. History reveals Your followers honored Your Sabbath faithfully for hundreds of years after Your resurrection. Teach me, Lord, to honor Your Sabbath every week.

 217. What was done away with at the cross?

• 1 Corinthians 5:7 Purge out therefore the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened. For even Christ our passover is sacrificed for us:
• Galatians 5:11 And I, brethren, if I yet preach circumcision, why do I yet suffer persecution? then is the offence of the cross ceased.
• Ephesians 2:15 Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances; for to make in himself of twain one new man, so making peace;
• Ephesians 2:16 And that he might reconcile both unto God in one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereby:
• Colossians 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;

Precious Jesus, I praise You and thank You for Your victory over sin at the cross. You took our enmity against You, our sinful nature and triumphed over it, and nailed it to the cross. You paid the full penalty for each sin on the cross. You nailed my death sentence to the cross, as well as the temporary rituals imposed on Israel until Your death. You broke down walls and brought peace between Jew and Gentile believers, so we are one in You.

218.  Did the sacrificial ordinances from the ceremonial law end at the cross?

• 2 Chronicles 8:13 Even after a certain rate every day, offering according to the commandment of Moses, on the sabbaths, and on the new moons, and on the solemn feasts, three times in the year, even in the feast of unleavened bread, and in the feast of weeks, and in the feast of tabernacles.
• Colossians 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days : 17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
• Colossians 2:20 Wherefore if ye be dead with Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances,
• Hebrews 9:1 Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.
• Hebrews 9:10 Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation.

Dear Lord, You devised a model of Your plan of salvation, and used the sacrifice of animals to prefigure the death of the Lamb of God. There were many rituals and ordinances required in the earth sacrlyificial system to be carried out on certain days, dealing with food and drinks and physical rituals that all pointed to Christ and His saving work for us. As the body of Christ was nailed to the cross, and sacrificed for us, all these rituals lost their significance and ceased. As we accept His death, we also acknowledge the death of our carnal heart. Our hope is riveted on Him, in the Heavenly sanctuary, not in worldly ordinances based on earthly priesthood. It is a denial of faith in Him to trust in these abolished ordinances.

219.  When did the resurrection of Jesus occur?

• Matthew 28:1 In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre.
• Mark 16:2 And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun.
• Mark 16:9 Now when Jesus was risen early the first day of the week, he appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom he had cast seven devils.
• Luke 24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them.
• John 20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulchre.

Dear Jesus, On the first day of the week You rose from the dead, very early in the morning, just as the sun was beginning to rise. What a blessed and glorious event this was for the world! Yet there is not one word in the Bible about the first day of the week being set aside as sanctified or holy, or any hint that we are to remember this day by special worship services or refraining from work. Keep me, Lord, from adding to Your Word that which You have not commanded, or detracting from Your Word that which You have commanded.

220.  Which verses of the Bible are sometimes used to show that Sunday is a holy day?

• John 20:19 Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you. (Why were they assembled? For fear of the Jews, not for a worship service.)
• Acts 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight . (According to Jewish reckoning, this would have been Saturday evening after the sun set, with Paul leaving for a long trip on Sunday morning. This was not a Sunday morning worship service, but a Saturday night going-away gathering.)
• 1 Corinthians 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. (This text says nothing about a meeting, but rather is advising them to do their weekly accounting, and setting aside an offering, so as to have the gift ready when Paul visited.)
• Revelation 1:10 I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice, as of a trumpet, (This does not specify what day is the Lord's day, but Mark 2:28 tell us which day. There are just 8 N.T. references regarding the first day. 6 of them refer to the day Christ was resurrected, 1 is about a specific event, and the last is about a weekly practice of setting aside an offering at home.)

Lord, In every New Testament verse that specifically talks about the first day of the week, there is found no admonition to keep Sunday holy or to attend church on that day. Paul's farewell gathering was on Saturday night, until midnight. He would not have traveled on Sunday if it was a holy day. And he also would not have advised the Christians to do their weekly accounting and storing of their goods to be given as missionary gifts. There is no evidence that Sunday is to be a holy day of rest and worship. Lord, teach me to be a diligent and faithful student of Your Word and not twist scripture in order to fit in with the crowd.

221.  What is one of the greatest abominations that God hates?

• Deuteronomy 4:19 And lest thou lift up thine eyes unto heaven, and when thou seest the sun, and the moon, and the stars, even all the host of heaven, shouldest be driven to worship them, and serve them, which the LORD thy God hath divided unto all nations under the whole heaven.
• Deuteronomy 17:3 And hath gone and served other gods, and worshipped them, either the sun, or moon, or any of the host of heaven, which I have not commanded;
• 2 Kings 23:5 And he put down the idolatrous priests, whom the kings of Judah had ordained to burn incense in the high places in the cities of Judah, and in the places round about Jerusalem; them also that burned incense unto Baal, to the sun, and to the moon, and to the planets, and to all the host of heaven.
• Jeremiah 8:2 And they shall spread them before the sun, and the moon, and all the host of heaven, whom they have loved, and whom they have served, and after whom they have walked, and whom they have sought, and whom they have worshipped: they shall not be gathered, nor be buried; they shall be for dung upon the face of the earth.
• Zechariah 8:15 Then said he unto me, Hast thou seen this , O son of man? turn thee yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these.16 And he brought me into the inner court of the LORD'S house, and, behold, at the door of the temple of the LORD, between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with their backs toward the temple of the LORD, and their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east.

Father, from the beginning of time, sinful man has been drawn to various types of sun worship. All through history we find such accounts. Even in Your earthly temple, sun worship took place, which You declared to be a great abomination-in fact one of the greatest of the abominations shown to Zechariah. Lord, if I make diligent search, I will discover elements of sun worship in every society, in every age. Even today a type of sun worship is taking place under a Christian guise. Many honor the day of the sun, Sunday. Purge me, Lord, from any form of worship that is not based on the Bible but on man's tradition. Guard me from the abomination of sun worship.

222.  Since sun worship is a great abomination, how will this enter into the prophecies of the last days?

• Daniel 11:31 And arms shall stand on his part, and they shall pollute the sanctuary of strength, and shall take away the daily sacrifice , and they shall place the abomination that maketh desolate.
• Matthew 24:15 When ye therefore shall see the abomination of desolation, spoken of by Daniel the prophet, stand in the holy place, (whoso readeth, let him understand:)
• Acts 7:42 Then God turned, and gave them up to worship the host of heaven; as it is written in the book of the prophets, O ye house of Israel, have ye offered to me slain beasts and sacrifices by the space of forty years in the wilderness?
• Revelation 17:4, 5 And the woman was arrayed in purple and scarlet colour, and decked with gold and precious stones and pearls, having a golden cup in her hand full of abominations and filthiness of her fornication: And upon her forehead was a name written, MYSTERY, BABYLON THE GREAT, THE MOTHER OF HARLOTS AND ABOMINATIONS OF THE EARTH.
• Revelation 21:27 And there shall in no wise enter into it any thing that defileth, neither whatsoever worketh abomination, or maketh a lie: but they which are written in the Lamb's book of life.

Dear Father, Open my eyes to understand this abomination that brings desolation, that will be set up in the last days, even among those who consider themselves to be part of Your church, new-covenant Christians. The symbolic Babylon, the corrupt church is full of abominations, which will include sun worship. Keep me, Lord, from participating in abominations, causing me to be forever shut out of Your kingdom.

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