Intro:

It was when the Jewish state was at peace, at worship, on the Sabbath that Hamas flew in to reign down chaos. They could have chosen any day to plan their attack, but they did it on the Sabbath, October 7, 2023 just after 6am. Why? Because, for Jerusalem, all the world knows, that it’s people have always worshiped on the seventh day — it was the one day Hamas thought they would catch them by surprise.

Jerusalem, The capital of Israel, known as the Holy City, is the center of a controversy that has broiled for centuries. Right here, an ancient Jewish people have worshipped, week after week after week, in an unbroken seven day cadence spanning thousands of years.

Before Jesus walked the dusty roads of Jerusalem, before Babylon battered it’s gates and marched Daniel and his three friends to Babylon… Before the prophet Isaiah, or Jeremiah, or Ezekiel — Jerusalem has been the ancient capital of Sabbath worship! A beacon in the midst of heathen nations, declaring every Sabbath, with the rising smoke of the temple sacrifices that there is one God who created heaven and earth, and He is worthy of worship. A holy day, blessed, hallowed, and sanctified by God from the very first week of Creation:

[Gen 2:3 NKJV] “… God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made.

No one can doubt the uniqueness of the seventh day among all the other days of the week. It was set apart as special at creation, and then God reaffirmed the permanence of the Sabbath when He enshrined it in stone in the heart of the ten commandment law of God. The fourth commandment, in the very midst of the ten, reads:

[Exo 20:8-11 NKJV] 8 “Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. 9 Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 10 but the seventh day [is] the Sabbath of the LORD your God. [In it] you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who [is] within your gates. 11 For [in] six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that [is] in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.

But lest we think Jerusalem as the capital of the Sabbath is only for the Jews, Jesus clarified that that the seventh day Sabbath wasn’t just a jewish holiday when He said:

[Mar 2:27 NKJV] 27 “The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the Sabbath.

The Sabbath isn’t exclusively a Jewish Sabbath, otherwise Jesus would’ve said “The Sabbath was made for the Jew” — Instead Jesus said it was made for who? “Mankind”, “All Humanity”… You and Me! The day that the Spanish language calls “Sabado”, the day the Russians call “Subota”, the day that the entire Arab world calls “As-Sabt”, is the Sabbath of the Lord.

and we can’t miss which day of the week this is… for the Sabbath has been the Sabbath every week since the entire Jewish nation kept it from Mt. Siani until today… Jesus leaves no room for doubt — His very death reveals which day the Sabbath is. Here is the clearest account in all the Bible of which day is the seventh day Sabbath:

[Mar 15:42-44 NKJV] 42 Now when evening had come, because it was the Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath, 43 Joseph of Arimathea, a prominent council member, who was himself waiting for the kingdom of God, coming and taking courage, went in to Pilate and asked for the body of Jesus. 44 Pilate marveled that He was already dead; and summoning the centurion, he asked him if He had been dead for some time.

which day did Jesus die? Well the Bible says, “Preparation Day, that is, the day before the Sabbath” — Some christians call it “Good Friday” — Good Friday Jesus died before the sun had set, and Joseph of Arimithea asks for the body of Jesus. Meanwhile Jesus disciples prepare spices and oils for Jesus embalmment on Friday, which was called “The Preparation

Day” — why? Because it was the day that God’s people finished their work, preparing for a Sabbath of rest and worship according to the ten commandments.

[Luk 23:54-56 NKJV] 54 That day was the Preparation, and the Sabbath drew near. 55 And the women who had come with Him from Galilee followed after, and they observed the tomb and how His body was laid. 56 Then they returned and prepared spices and fragrant oils. And they rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment.

Now this is very clear — Jesus died on Friday (Preparation Day) — and the Bible says the day after the preparation day, the day after Friday, the day that Jesus spent in the tomb and the day that God’s people rested according to the commandments was which day? — The Sabbath…

Which commandment were they following when they rested? — The Ten Commandments…

Now we have Friday Jesus died, and the Sabbath follows Friday, which day then is the Sabbath? and in case there is any confusion at all, the very next verse in Luke says:

[Luk 24:1-2 NKJV] 1 Now on the first [day] of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain [other women] with them, came to the tomb bringing the spices which they had prepared. 2 But they found the stone rolled away from the tomb.

Jesus died on Friday, rested in the Tomb over the Sabbath, and rose to life on the first day of the week. And which day is the first day of the week? The day after Sabbath. Two days after Friday… it’s resurrection Sunday! This is why Easter is held on Sunday EVERY year, because the Bible affirms that Jesus rose on the first day of the week, and if Sunday is the FIRST DAY — which day is the Seventh? Without question friends — the Bible answer is Saturday.

Now we ask ourselves, if the Sabbath is God’s ten commandment day of rest and worship, why does the church across the street and nearly every other Christian worship on Sunday?  

Not because God changed it —  

The Bible tells us that Jesus kept the Sabbath: [Luk 4:16 NKJV] 16 So 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 to read.

The Bible tells us that The apostles kept the Sabbath: [Act 18:4 NKJV] 4 And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded both Jews and Greeks.

The Bible tells us that both Jews and Gentile Christians kept the Sabbath

[Act 13:42 NKJV] 42 So when the Jews went out of the synagogue, the Gentiles begged that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. and Jesus made this promise to us

[Mat 5:17-19 NKJV] 17 “Do not think that I came to destroy the Law or the Prophets. I did not come to destroy but to fulfill. 18 “For assuredly, I say to you, till heaven and earth pass away, one jot or one tittle will by no means pass from the law till all is fulfilled. 19 “Whoever therefore breaks one of the least of these commandments, and teaches men so, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever does and teaches [them], he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven.

No, it wasn’t God who changed His own law… It wasn’t God who changed His own day of worship… If God didn’t change it, who did?

The answer doesn’t come as a surprise to the apostles, they prophecies of who would change the day of worship:

[2Th 2:3 NKJV] 3 Let no one deceive you by any means; for [that Day will not come] unless the falling away comes first, and the man of sin is revealed, the son of perdition,

What is the falling away?

[1Ti 4:1 NKJV] 1 Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons, and then Paul adds

[Act 20:29-31 NKJV] 29 “For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock. 30 “Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. 31 “Therefore watch, and remember that for three years I did not cease to warn everyone night and day with tears.

The “Falling Away” is a prophetic departure of Christians from the teachings of Christ and the

Apostles — a departure from truth… A falling away from the Word of God! Who changed the

Bible Sabbath for Sunday as the day of worship? Not the Bible, Not God, but Compromising Christians who were seeking to find popularity with the world.

History confirms it — Just read what happened to the church after the New Testament times, and how Christianity slid in a state of compromise.

“Almost imperceptibly the customs of heathenism found their way into the Christian church. The spirit of compromise and conformity was restrained for a time by the fierce persecutions which the church endured under paganism. But as persecution ceased, and Christianity entered the courts and palaces of kings, she laid aside the humble simplicity of Christ and his apostles for the pomp and pride of pagan priests and rulers; and in place of the requirements of God, she substituted human theories and traditions… Paganism, while appearing to be vanquished, became the conqueror. Her spirit controlled the church. Her doctrines, ceremonies, and superstitions were incorporated into the faith and worship of the professed followers of Christ.” — Great Controversy, 49.

Compromising Christians of this time began to celebrate Sunday as a church feast! Remember, Communion was the celebration in honor of Christ’s death, and now they began to celebrate it as a feast in honor of Christ’s resurrection in addition to the Bible Sabbath. However, since Sunday was treated as a festive day, and was more easily accepted by the pagans who had worshipped the sun-god prior to conversion to christianity, Sunday gradually began to take preeminence over the Bible Sabbath in the church.  

By 364 AD, a council was called by church leaders called “The Council of Laodicea”, and in cannon 29 they stated:

“Christians must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord’s Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.” — Council of Laodicea, Cannon 29

Worshipping on the Sabbath, the seventh-day, actually became illegal!

Who made this law? — The Church

Who changed the day? — The Church

Who set up Sunday as the new Holy Day of worship? — The Church

Let’s go to the Catholic Encyclopedia. We are looking at volume 4, page 153. These are the most reliable volumes of the Catholic Church. It says—

“The church, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath of the seventh day of the week to the first made the third commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord’s Day.” — Catholic Encyclopedia, Vol. 4, P. 153.

So who changed the day of worship? — When Catholic Encyclopedia says “The church”, they are referring to themselves. The Roman Catholic Church is the historical entity responsible for making that change.

You see friend, the devil is clever — for centuries he has watched Jerusalem — the capital of the Sabbath, and every week the devil and the whole world are reminded that the Sabbath was set apart as an eternal memorial of God’s creative work!

So what would Satan do? — Revelation tells us, that he sets up an opposing capital of worship!

[Rev 14:8 NKJV] 8 And another angel followed, saying, “Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she has made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication.”

What is the city of Babylon? John the Revelator, identifies this city, as the the Harlot of

Revelation:

[Rev 17:18 NKJV] 18 “And the woman whom you saw is that great city which reigns over the kings of the earth.”

and we know that the Harlot of Revelation represents, the church who has apostatized from the truth —  

Babylon is the Seat of the Papacy, the capital of corruption, the center of false worship, and the antagonist of Jerusalem — Babylon is none other than the Vatican City, the capital of the Roman Catholic church, and the global center from which all christians derive their authority to worship on Sunday.

But the Lord’s Day remains unchanged in heaven’s eyes:

[Mar 2:28 NKJV] 28 “Therefore the Son of Man is also Lord of the Sabbath.”

When we look at scripture from beginning to end we find that the Sabbath of God’s Law has never been changed. It is just as important today as it was when God created it as a blessed and sanctified day of Creation.

[Heb 4:9 NKJV] 9 There remains therefore a rest for the people of God.

The word “rest” here in greek is “Sabitismos” — which literally reads “There remains a [Sabbath Rest} for the people of God”

It is against this clear backdrop of the Sabbath that we turn to a verse in Romans that has caused confusion and concern, and has been used by well-meaning but misled Chrstians to justify breaking God’s law for centuries… Right here, is apex of the controversy — Are you ready to read it with me? Let’s read it together:

[Rom 14:5-6 NKJV] 5 One person esteems [one] day above another; another esteems every day [alike]. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes [it] to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe [it]. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks.

Now, if you were a Sunday keeping Christian what is the immediate application that is made here? Well if you are sitting in a Seventh-day Adventist Church, your mind immediately goes to Sabbath vs Sunday — and your thoughts may go something like this:

“You keep Saturday, I keep Sunday — Doesn’t God accept us both as long as we are both fully convinced in our mind? It’s just a day! It’s only a day! You have your day, I have my day!”

But did you catch how the human mind added to scripture what isn’t there? Where in Romans 14 does it mention “The Sabbath” or “Sunday”? Do you find it there? How do you know that when Paul is talking about esteemed days, he is referring to “Sabbath vs Sunday”? The truth is that Sabbath vs Sunday wasn’t even an issue at the time of Paul…

But what was an issue at the time of Paul was how gentile converts would integrate into a christian church that was culturally jewish… Romans wasn’t written in a vacuum, it was a letter written to gentile christians who had left the world, and were seeking to blend together with jewish christians into one new religion.

In another letter Paul makes clearer what the controversy was over in the new testament. Listen to how he puts it in Colossians:

[Col 2:16-17 NKJV] 16 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of

Christ.

What does food, drink, festivals, new moons, and Sabbaths all have in common? These are all elements associated with the Jewish Feast Days. You can see how all these elements are mentioned in scripture as part of the feast days:

[Lev 23:37-39 NKJV] 37 ‘These [are] the feasts of the LORD which you shall proclaim [to be] holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire to the LORD, a burnt offering and a grain offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything on its day– 38 ‘besides the Sabbaths of the LORD, besides your gifts, besides all your vows, and besides all your freewill offerings which you give to the LORD. 39 ‘Also on the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when you have gathered in the fruit of the land, you shall keep the feast of the LORD [for] seven days; on the first day [there shall be] a sabbath-[rest], and on the eighth day a sabbath-[rest].

Why were feast days a controversy in the early church? Because, as Colossians says, they were a shadow pointing forward to Christ and His ministry. A Shadow is only there until the reality has come. The Shadow is temporary, it’s a place holder, a promise in rituals until the real thing arrives… Which would you choose to keep if you could only keep one: Christ or Passover which points to Christ? Which would you rather have the feast of Pentecost, or the actual outpouring of the promised Holy Spirit which Pentecost was a symbol of? Which would you rather have, the Feast of Tabernacles, or to leave this world to Tabernacle with God at His temple in heaven? Listen to what Paul says:

[1Co 5:7 NKJV] 7 Therefore purge out the old leaven, that you may be a new lump, since you truly are unleavened. For indeed Christ, our Passover, was sacrificed for us.

So Are feast days binding upon Christians today? The answer to that question, is in Paul’s answer to the Colossians:

[Col 2:14 NKJV] 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

It was not God’s Law that was nailed to the cross, it was not the Sabbath that was nailed to the cross… So what was nailed to the cross? Notice the passage says it was the “requirements that was against us.”, right?

Now, we are all familiar with the ten commandments — Those were written by God’s own finger, on stone, and were placed inside the the Ark. But there was another law, hand-written by Moses!

What was this law? The ceremonial law that outlined all the requirements for the Feasts! This law was the one that stated how passover was to be celebrated, how lambs were to be sacrificed, how the sanctuary was to be cared for, and how the ministry of the priests was to be performed. Here it is in scripture:

[Deu 31:24-26 NKJV] 24 So it was, when Moses had completed writing the words of this law in a book, when they were finished, 25 that Moses commanded the Levites, who bore the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying: 26 “Take this Book of the Law, and put it beside the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there as a witness against you;

Friends, what was nailed to the cross?

The New Testament says,

[Col 2:14 NKJV] 14 having wiped out the handwriting of requirements that was against us, which was contrary to us. And He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.

You see the issue in the New Testament isn’t Sabbath vs Sunday, like we want to make it read — The issue Paul is tackling is whether or not Gentiles must become Jews to be true followers of God — Do they need to keep the feasts? Do they too need to participate in the Sacrifices? Do they need to be circumcised? These were the big issues that faced Gentiles coming into the new christian church at that time:

Let’s go over to the council in Jerusalem just now (Acts 15), surely if the issue that faced the early Christians was whether or not to keep Sabbath vs Sunday, it would be mentioned in the first Christian council of the newly formed church… Do we find it mentioned there? No… Nothing… Zero…. What we do find mentioned there is Circumcision

[Act 15:1 NKJV] 1 And certain [men] came down from Judea and taught the brethren, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved.”

[Act 15:5 NKJV] 5 But some of the sect of the Pharisees who believed rose up, saying, “It is necessary to circumcise them, and to command [them] to keep the law of Moses.”

What are the two issues in the Jerusalem Council?

1. Circumcision
2. The Law of Moses (This is the ceremonial law — Jewish Feast Days)

What was the conclusion of the Council?

[Act 15:28-29 NKJV] 28 For it seemed good to the Holy Spirit, and to us, to lay upon you no greater burden than these necessary things: 29 that you abstain from things offered to idols, from blood, from things strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well…

Now is it sin to keep the feast days or to be circumcised? — Think about this:

Paul was circumcised

Jesus was circumcised

The twelve apostles were all circumcised

[1Co 7:19 NKJV] 19 Circumcision is nothing and uncircumcision is nothing, but keeping the commandments of God [is what matters].

[Gal 5:6 NKJV] 6 For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision nor uncircumcision avails anything, but faith working through love.

and regarding the feasts, Paul attended some of the Jewish feasts in an effort to reach the

Jews.  

[Act 18:21 NKJV] 21 but took leave of them, saying, “I must by all means keep this coming feast in Jerusalem; but I will return again to you, God willing.” And he sailed from Ephesus.

What’s the point! The point is that there are elements of faith that are neither binding nor sinful, they are what you might call neutral points — Feast Days, Circumcision, Meat Sacrificed to Idols, in this day an age we might place some of the issues we’ve had to deal with in the Pandemic as issues which are neutral… When it comes to these issues we should have an abundance of mercy and grace, and not stand in judgment over others who may view these non-essentials, these neutral issues differently than us. Ellen White put it well when she said:

“No one is to control another’s mind, to judge for another, or to prescribe his duty. God gives to every soul freedom to think, and to follow his own convictions. “Every one of us shall give account of himself to God.” No one has a right to merge his own individuality in that of another.

In all matters where principle is involved, “let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Romans 14:12, 5.” — Desire of Ages, 550.

Now that we have this understanding, let’s re-read the verse in Romans with our eyes wide open to the issues Paul was addressing:

[Rom 14:5-6, 10 NKJV] 5 One person esteems [one] day above another; another esteems every day [alike]. Let each be fully convinced in his own mind. 6 He who observes the day, observes [it] to the Lord; and he who does not observe the day, to the Lord he does not observe [it]. He who eats, eats to the Lord, for he gives God thanks; and he who does not eat, to the Lord he does not eat, and gives God thanks. … 10 But why do you judge your brother? Or why do you show contempt for your brother? For we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.

Is Paul talking about Sabbath vs Sunday? — Not at all… He is talking about respecting your brothers and sisters in faith  and allowing for diversity of views, beliefs, and practices that are not doctrinal.

As Paul says, “Let each be fully convinced in his own mind.”

Well then, where does that leave us with the Sabbath? — Friends, the Sabbath is not one of those places were God has left us to flounder in our beliefs — the Sabbath is a clear Bible doctrine.

and someday soon, Jesus will come to take us to the New Jerusalem — Heaven’s new capital, where the Sabbath will continue to be kept from week to week to week, a seven day cadence that will continue not for hundreds, or thousands of years, but for eternity:

[Isa 66:22-23 NKJV] 22 “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says the LORD, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass [That] from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says the LORD.

Appeal:

Do you want to make the new Jerusalem your capital city friends? If Jerusalem is your capital, and Jesus is your Lord, then today why not give Him your Sabbaths? Today if you have seen the Sabbath clearly from the Bible, and you would like to re-affirm you commitment to worshipping on this day, or perhaps you are new to the Sabbath and would like to follow Jesus and begin to explore this day of worship, won’t you stand just now? — Let’s make this commitment together, shall we?