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Letters regarding "The Sabbath Question"
Dear Sir,
I enjoyed the web site very much, and am assuming you are observing the Saturday Sabbath. First of all, it is not my intention to appear self-righteous or a "know-it-all" concerning the subject of the Sabbath. I freely confess that I do not know or can explain all the answers to the Sabbath question. I myself was at one time a Saturday Sabbath keeper, therefore I understand the premise of Sabbath keeping; and have the deepest respect towards seventh-day Saturday keepers. For what it's worth, I am sending you copies of letters that I sent to sincere men that are keeping the Saturday seventh-day Sabbath. I am also sending a forty-page booklet as an attached file entitled "The Seventh Day". This file is saved and sent in Rich Text Format, and can be opened and read in most all word processors. In all due respect toward you, I have come to understand that the premise of observing the fourth commandment is not based on the seventh day of the week (according to our calendar). Biblically speaking, it is only a divine pattern of "working" six days and "resting" the following (seventh) day. This fact is very easily supported by the Bible, because the phrase "seventh-day of the week" is not found in the Bible! We must believe exactly the way the fourth commandment is worded. Saturday keepers tend to assume that the divine instructions of the fourth commandment is referring to the seventh day of the week on a continual basis since the creation. I realize that regardless of whatever I send you for your examination will not change your position on Sabbath keeping, nor is it intended to. Only the guidance of the Spirit of truth can do that, if we choose to be honest with scripture in child-like innocence. Thank you kindly for your time, and may God bless you richly.In Christian love, Mahlon
(Copy of 1st letter)....
Hi David,
If I understand you correctly, David, you are asking why the pattern of six "work" days and a "rest" day had to start from a holy day, and you stated that this was an unusual doctrine. You lost me, because what is so unusual and strange by counting six "work" days and then "resting" the following day, and that this pattern and cycle would always start from a holy day? Maybe I do not know what you mean or what you are asking?The commandment was for Israel to do all their work in six days as well as to rest the next (seventh) day as it clearly states in Exod. 23:12, and also in other scriptures. My point is that the law of the six "work" days (in succession) were of equal importance to maintain as well as the seventh-day "rest", according to the commandment. Are you with me? This ceremonial pattern of "working and resting" was designed to represent a flawed six-day creation and a continual "rest" of God. The six-day creation was flawed because it was a "renewed" creation as a result of an angelic rebellion in the world before Adam. This truth is addressed in my booklet entitled "The World Before Adam". The six-day creation was made subject to vanity as it states in Rom. 8:20, and the accuracy of measuring time was also flawed and distorted, as will be explained later.
Adam was given the kingdom of God to keep dominion over the six-day creation. Adam of course disqualified himself to rule by falling into sin. The purpose for God to give all the sacrificial laws and also the Sabbath laws through Moses was to provide a legal remedy for the Israelites to again inherit the kingdom of God. The holy festivals that pictured the plan of God in redeeming his people, and to restore the kingdom to Israel, were of course incorporated into the theme and pattern of "working" six days and "resting" the seventh. Therefore in order to keep the law of the six "work" days functioning correctly, I believe the holy days altered and caused the weekly Sabbath to shift and fall on different days of the week. Keep in mind the days of the week (by our calendar) are not mentioned in the Bible, but a system of numbering the days.
David, this is my understanding and what I personally believe was the way that the law of the Sabbath worked. It is really very simple so that a child could understand. I know it is difficult for Saturday keepers to think this concept through, since they are convinced in their minds and are thinking on the premise that what they know to be God's Holy Sabbath has always fallen on the same day of the week since the creation. Saturday keepers also assume that God had to reveal to Israel through Moses the correct day that his Holy Sabbath happened to fall on. I believe this assumption is indeed frivolous, and is not correct in determining what God's true "Rest" really is. My question has always been, why is it not recorded anywhere in scripture in the many centuries before Moses where God revealed a certain day of the week for Godly men to remember his Holy Sabbath. Why would God keep his Sabbath hidden from Godly men if indeed his Sabbath fell on a certain day of the week? It is a biblical fact that the laws involved in what is called God's Holy Sabbath did not function until Moses! Therefore we must conclude that the carnal laws of "working" and "resting" that were carefully instructed to Moses were only designed to represent something much bigger and much more important. God's true "Eternal Rest" must not be limited to a certain day of the week as a Saturday keeper assumes that it is.
The law of the six "work" days were to be obeyed in succession, therefore I do not believe it is recorded anywhere in the Old Testament when two Sabbaths occurred during an eight-day period with the second Sabbath of course being the weekly Sabbath. There are some people of today that make the claim that there were two Sabbaths when Christ was sacrificed with the last Sabbath of course being a weekly Sabbath. The law of the six "work" days under Moses would not allow this to happen! The Sabbath that occurred before the first day of the week was a singular Sabbath according to all the gospel accounts. This particular Sabbath according to Lev. 23:5-7 had to be the "first day of unleavened bread" that followed the death of Christ (the true Passover), therefore was not the weekly seventh day Sabbath. However I believe the gospel accounts will contradict this understanding. Keep in mind, these events were recorded from a "Jewish" standpoint, and did not necessarily take in consideration the true laws of Moses. Therefore from this understanding, I want to explain why it was possible for the second Sabbath to be the weekly Sabbath if indeed there were two Sabbaths (or a double Sabbath on the same day) when Christ was sacrificed.
During the time of Christ the temple service was greatly perverted and the false priesthood that was in control did not serve the Israelite people correctly with the Mosaic laws. This fact can be proven many times by the words of Christ himself. Indeed, this is why Christ could say to the Israelites of his day; "your house is left unto you desolate" (Matt 23:38). If there had been a true Levitical priesthood functioning and correctly doing the work of the temple service, you and I both know that Christ would not have been sacrificed; and you and I therefore would be without a Redeemer and a Savior. The reason I can state this with conviction is simply because the true priesthood and the laws of the old covenant (including the Sabbath laws) were carefully designed to lead the Israelite people in acceptance and belief of Christ, and therefore would not have permitted Christ's death. See Acts 3:22 and 7:37
The people that controlled the temple service during the time of Christ were not who they claimed they were. This is another subject which I do not want to address at this time, however I will attach a booklet to this message that addresses the subject of the "Jews", which is entitled "Lost Israel and the Gentiles". In my opinion, the "Jews" had their own form of righteousness, which was only a pretense or a false copy of the old covenant laws under Moses; and therefore allowed a perversion of the Sabbath laws. It is my belief that God deliberately went along with this perversion and allowed this type of "legalism" for a glorious purpose, (and this perversion continues with us today). As a matter of fact, why was the Passover during Christ's time repeatedly called the "Jews" Passover, and not God’s Passover? See John 2:13, 6:4 and 11:55. Why did Christ eat the Passover supper the night before the Passover was to be killed? See Luke 22:7-11. According to Lev. 23:5-7 the "first day of unleavened bread" was after the Passover was killed, however according to the gospel accounts this day occurred before Christ was slain. See Matt 26:17, Mark 14:1,12 and Luke 22:1,7. Was Christ slain as the true Passover Lamb (which he was) on the correct day or not? With these questions in mind, and taking this perversion into consideration, it can be correctly assumed why the second Sabbath could have been the weekly Sabbath when Christ was sacrificed. David, I know this argument to you might be very weak in proving my case as to why, according to the law of Moses, there cannot be a weekly Sabbath following a Holy Day during an eight-day period. This happens to be my current understanding if there was either a single Sabbath, or a double Sabbath on the same day, when Christ's body lay in the tomb. Again I remind you, the gospel accounts have this Sabbath as being singular.
Another reason for my position on the Sabbath is that we now have 365 days in a year, and also leap years. Therefore the Sabbath of today could not correspond and fall on the same day of the week as during the time of Moses since the years during Moses were 360 days in duration.
In conclusion, I maintain that the correct pattern is much more valid and important to uphold than the correct day of the week that the seventh day continually happens to fall on. That is, if we choose to follow and attempt to obey Moses and the old covenant laws regarding the Holy days and the law of the weekly Sabbath. I enjoy this conversation between us, David, and let's keep it up. Hope to hear from you again soon.
God bless you, Mahlon
(copy of 2nd letter)....
Hello again David,
You asked me where in biblical times a year was only 360 days. This truth can be established from prophesy itself, mainly in the book of Daniel which is directly linked to the book of Revelation. Daniel wrote of a time period lasting "70 weeks", which would be fulfilled and determined on a people called Israel. See Dan. 9:24-27. In Gen. 29:27-28 one "week" biblically means seven years; hence 70 weeks (of years) times seven is 490 years. "Seventy weeks" is biblically interpreted to mean a period of time lasting 490 years. Now comes the interesting part. This 490 year time period is divided into parts of time in which I believe 69 "weeks" have already been accounted for at the death and resurrection of Christ. The last week (seven years) is also divided in half (midst of the week) as is explained in Dan. 9:27. One half of this final "week" is determined to last 1,260 days and another one half is to last 42 months as it explains in Rev. 11:13, 12:6 and 13:5. Simple calculation will tell us that 3 1/2 years is 1,260 days and also 42 months, however this calculation must be based on a 30 day month. Therefore one year in biblical times was 30 days times 12 months or 360 days. Some will argue that the 360-day year is a "prophetic year", therefore this would have no bearing on determining if the Mosaic years were the same as the years we have today. Not so, since it must be understood that 360 days happens to be the Bible definition of a year (prophetic or literal), and will therefore offset and cause a bible year to not correspond with our modern-day year of 365 days plus leap years. It is very interesting that the "man of sin" will attempt to change "times", which I believe could mean that he will change a year back to 360 days. This will make the deception more creditable to the world into believing "the lie" that he is God, or the returned Jesus Christ. See Dan. 7:25, and 2 Thes. 2:3-11. Prophesy is a very interesting subject, and is addressed in my booklet entitled "The Kingdom of God"; and it is attached to this message. If you would, read it carefully and get back with me.I heartily agree with you, David, the Sabbath was made for man which our Savior said that it was. The Godly intent and purpose of God's true Sabbath for man (Adam) must be understood, and does not necessarily mean the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath according to the laws of the old covenant. Therefore I must ask you, just what was made holy and just what did God bless on the seventh day of creation? Was it a particular day of the week (according to our calendar), or what was it? The Sabbath command that was given to Moses only represented what God had blessed and made holy on the seventh day of creation. Come on, David, is this not true? We must not limit the Creator of the universe and say he blessed only the seventh day of the week (according to our calendar); when in fact God is on a continual "Rest" since the creation.
Which "Sabbath rest" does God want for us to have, and has always wanted his people Israel to believe in? The Bible explains in great detail why God’s people Israel could not enter into God’s Eternal Rest. It was because of unbelief and hardness of heart ("stiff-necked" and stubbornness). This is why obedience to a carnal physical law of "working" six days and "resting" the following day provided a temporary "remedy" for this unbelief and hardness of heart. Do we want to enter into the "Eternal Rest" with God that is spoken of by nearly all the prophets, and also spoken of in Heb. 4? Or do we want to religiously attempt to obey the seventh-day Sabbath "rest" with a death penalty; and according to the law, must be supplemented with animal sacrifices?
You stated that the Catholic church changed the Sabbath to Sunday. It was not a question of changing anything. According to early Church history Christians from the apostles on did not keep Saturday as their day of worship and assembly. Therefore the Catholic Church instituted (or tried to enforce) the day of the week that believing Christians were already keeping, which happened to be Sunday in honor of Christ's resurrection and the "new creation". Quotes from the early Church Fathers and the "new creation" is addressed in my booklet "The Seventh Day". So long for now and stay in touch.
Your brother in Christ, Mahlon
(Copy of 3rd letter)....
Dear Bob,
It was interesting to read your comments. You are right, it is true that we cannot agree on this subject known as the Sabbath question. I am writing this with the best Christian intentions, and I admire and respect your sincerity and commitment on your premise that the Sabbath was made on the seventh day of creation. I ask you, where does it state in scripture that what is known as the Sabbath day was made on the seventh day of creation? It only states that God "rested" on the seventh day. Nothing was ever mentioned about a "Sabbath day"! The Sabbath day that God gave to Moses only represented God "resting" on the seventh day. Is this not true? The Sabbath day that God showed to Moses simply could not be the "Eternal Rest" that God is continually "resting" since the creation.You asked me the purpose of the fourth commandment. Under the old covenant the Israelites were commanded to "work" six days and then "rest" the next day, because this was the correct pattern of God "working" six days and then "resting" the seventh day. Obedience to these laws and also the sacrificial laws provided the Israelites with a temporary "remedy" of their unbelief and hardness of heart. The correct theme and purpose for us to obey the fourth commandment today is to simply set aside one day in seven for assembly, which allows for Christ to build his Church. One day in seven is not our time to do our own "work" and to seek our own pleasure. This day (seventh) belongs to God, and this is the correct way for us today to keep the fourth commandment; which happens to be now continually on the first day of the week (Sunday). This will be explained later. To set aside (or to "cease and rest") one day out of seven is to allow for God’s time, which is what the fourth commandment was forever designed to do. That is all it was!
You asked where is the historical and scientific proof that the seventh day of the week of today was not the same day of the week as during the time of Moses. It is simple mathematics to realize that 360 days in a year during Moses could not correspond to the same as 365 days in a year plus leap years as we have today. Regardless of what Herbert Armstrong has always taught, this comparison simply does not fit and continually correspond on the same day of the week.
You say that Christ kept the correct day of the week, therefore we can know today which day of the week it was. No, Christ's Godly intentions and heart-felt desire was to keep the correct pattern under the old covenant. Christ was born under the old covenant, and therefore was subject to the old covenant laws of the Sabbath. It is true that the Sabbath day that occurred during the time of Christ's crucifixion and death happened to be on the seventh day of the week, and this day is Saturday according to our calendar. However there is no biblical evidence that this particular Sabbath was the weekly Sabbath. According to the law of Moses (not the gospel accounts) this Sabbath had to be the "first day of unleavened bread". The gospel accounts have recorded this Sabbath as being singular, therefore was not a double Sabbath. However it could also have been recorded as the "Jews" perverted weekly Sabbath based on "legalism".
True Sabbath keeping under the old covenant was not based and was not determined on the correct day of the week, since the "seventh day of the week" is not mentioned in the Bible. There is a very important reason why it is not mentioned! This is where you Saturday keepers get lost and cannot understand this truth, because you are operating under the premise that God's true Sabbath has always fallen on the same day of the week since the creation. Saturday keepers will argue that the phrase "seventh day of the week" does not have to be mentioned. Yes, it certainly would have to be mentioned! That is, if the Sabbath day is always determined to fall on the seventh day of the week (according to our calendar). The Bible never states that the Sabbath is the seventh day of the week; as a Saturday keeper assumes that it does! This biblical fact alone upsets a Saturday keeper’s whole premise on Sabbath keeping. This understanding only means that the seventh day Sabbath under Moses was not based and determined to fall on the seventh day of the week. It was only a divine pattern and cycle of six "work" days and then a "rest" day which always started from a holy day.
It is very important to realize that the phrase "first day of the week" is mentioned eight times to be exact in the New Testament. Eight times is very significant! This is how the Holy Spirit is telling truth-seekers that Christ's death brought a whole new meaning to the fourth commandment. Seventh day Sabbath keeping was a written law on stone (of the letter); and was destined to be fulfilled and was ended with the sacrifice of Christ. However the intent of the fourth commandment was not done away, and this change and Godly intent now falls continually on the "eighth day"; hence Sunday in honor of Christ's resurrection and the "new creation".
Sunday keeping is not the "mark of the beast" as you claim, because this has to do with economics (buying and selling); and therefore has nothing to do with a particular day of the week or a religion. A Saturday keeper will accept the "mark" as willingly as a Sunday keeper under severe and trying circumstances. Bob, it is important to read and study my booklet "The Seventh Day" very carefully. This booklet explains my understanding of the Sabbath question. However I will not take the position that the booklet is not in error in some way, and I stand corrected if something is not biblically correct. Thank you kindly for your time.
In Christian love, Mahlon
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