THE SABBATH A MEMORIAL OF CREATION

THE SABBATH A MEMORIAL OF CREATION

Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. 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 2:1,2.

After resting upon the seventh day, God sanctified it, or set it apart, as a day of rest for man.

Following the example of the Creator, man was to rest upon this sacred day, that as he should look upon

the heavens and the earth, he might reflect upon God's great work of creation. And that as he should behold

the evidences of God's wisdom and goodness, his heart might be filled with love and reverence for his

Maker.

In Eden, God set up the memorial of His work of creation, in placing His blessing upon the

seventh day. The Sabbath was committed to Adam, the father and representative of the whole human

family. Its observance was to be an act of grateful acknowledgment, on the part of all who should dwell

upon the earth, that God was their Creator and their rightful Sovereign; that they were the work of His

hands, and the subjects of His authority. Thus the institution was wholly commemorative, and given to all

mankind. There was nothing in it shadowy, or of restricted application to any people.

God saw that a Sabbath was essential for man, even in Paradise. He needed to lay aside his own

interests and pursuits for one day of the seven, that he might more fully contemplate the works of God, and

meditate upon His power and goodness. He needed a Sabbath to remind him more vividly of God, and to

awaken gratitude because all that he enjoyed and possessed came from the beneficent hand of the Creator."

- Patriarchs and Prophets, pages 47, 48.

Great blessings are enfolded in the observance of the Sabbath, and God desires that the Sabbath

day shall be to us a day of joy. There was joy at the institution of the Sabbath. God looked with satisfaction

upon the work of His hands. All things that He had made He pronounced -very good." Genesis 1:31.

Heaven and earth were filled with rejoicing. "The morning stars sang together, and all the sons of God

shouted for joy." Job. 38:7.

Though sin has entered the world to mar His perfect work, God still gives to us the Sabbath as a

witness that One omnipotent, infinite in goodness and mercy, created all things. Our heavenly Father

desires through the observance of the Sabbath to preserve among men a knowledge of Himself. He desires

that the Sabbath shall direct our minds to Him as the true and living God, and that through knowing Him

we may have life and peace." - Testimonies, Volume VI, page 349.

Let those who are content with morality and uprightness of conduct, and are indifferent to

religious duty, be assured that there is an unearthly peace, a heavenly joy, a blessedness like that of the

angels, for every every one who has learned the happy secret of dwelling in the light of the divine presence.

Why is the Sabbath Important? Part 1

 The Sabbath is one of the most important aspects of the believer's life when it is rightfully set in its place in the Christian's understanding of the Character of God. Satan has accused God of being serve (Matthew 25: 24) and unjust and requiring a law that His creatures cannot keep.


The command to keep the Sabbath is found in Exodus 20:8 - 11, it is embedded in the moral law of God, and it reads


"[Earnestly] remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy (withdrawn from common employment and dedicated to God). Six days you shall labor and do all your work,
But the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God; in it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, your daughter, your manservant, your maidservant, your domestic animals, or the sojourner within your gates.


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. That is why the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it [set it apart for His purposes]." (Exodus 20:8-11 AMP)

Firstly, The Sabbath command is a commandment. It is as eternal as God[1] It calls the Christian to remember the seventh day Sabbath to keep it holy. A day or any other of God's requirements cannot be kept, let alone kept holy apart from God doing it in and through us because we are sold out to sin[2]. The promise given to Israel was

 "For I am the LORD that bringeth you up out of the land of Egypt, to be your God: ye shall therefore be holy, for I am holy." (Leviticus 11:45)

Holiness is because God is holy. God's very presence makes wherever He is holy by His very nature, oh praise the Lord! Therefore, keeping the Sabbath holy meant keeping Jesus Christ in the believer's heart to make the command effective. So from all eternity the principle of Sabbath rest was kept by God indwelling all His creatures by His Holy Spirit, making and giving rest.

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[1] Psalms 111:7, 8

[2] Romans 7:14, Romans 8:7, Jeremiah 13:23, Ephesians 2:1

The Question of the Sabbath

Many persons are perplexed about the Sabbath, and rightly so. Popular religious teachings say "the Sabbath is abolished," or " We are no longer under Law but under grace" still another will say "the Sabbath is an old Jewish relic, it was for the Jews and Sunday is for Christians." Among all these discordant voices who is the sincere child of God to believe? Human tradition, religious reasonings of learned men? The plain word of God must be brought to bear on the question and by the guidance of His Spirit the weight of evidence must decide. Isaiah says "And when the people [instead of putting their trust in God] shall say to you, Consult for direction mediums and wizards who chirp and mutter, should not a people seek and consult their God? Should they consult the dead on behalf of the living? (Isaiah 8:19 AMP)To the law and to the testimony: if they speak not according to this word, it is because there is no light in them (Isaiah 8:20 KJV)"

So let us consider what the word of God says on this issue. 

Is Hell Real part 3?

The Greek word “geenna” translated hell, as we outlined before is used to be a place of punishment. This word has falsely been used to establish the notion of an ever-burning hell. Let us see how this word is used in scripture.

"Then shall he say also unto them on the left hand, Depart from me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels…And these shall go away into everlasting punishment: but the righteous into life eternal." (Matthew 25:41, 46) "And fear not them which kill the body, but are not able to kill the soul: but rather fear him which is able to destroy both soul and body in hell." (Matthew 10:28)

In addition to these texts, others often quote "But I say unto you, That whosoever is angry with his brother without a cause shall be in danger of the judgment: and whosoever shall say to his brother, Raca, shall be in danger of the council: but whosoever shall say, Thou fool, shall be in danger of hell fire… And if thy right eye offend thee, pluck it out, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell… And if thy right hand offend thee, cut it off, and cast it from thee: for it is profitable for thee that one of thy members should perish, and not that thy whole body should be cast into hell." (Matthew 5:22, 29, 30)

As well as “And if thine eye offend thee, pluck it out: it is better for thee to enter into the kingdom of God with one eye, than having two eyes to be cast into hell fire: Where their worm dieth not, and the fire is not quenched.” (luke 9:47, 48) And “And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.”(Isaiah 66:24)

These passages of scripture, rather than prove the existence of “hell” each refer to the final destruction of the wicked or the “second death.” It is in this sense that “geenna” is used to show the separation that sin causes. Isaiah says “Behold, the LORD'S hand is not shortened, that it cannot save; neither his ear heavy, that it cannot hear: But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear. (Isaiah 59:1, 2)

Sin separates us from our loving heavenly Father. He is the fountain of living waters. Why oh why should anyone choose other than to submit, be forgiven and cleansed and be prepared by going “… on unto perfection [of character]; not laying again the foundation of repentance from dead works, and of faith toward God,” (1 Corinthians 6:1) for the second coming of our Lord and Saviour Christ.

Is Hell real? Part 2

Where is Hell? Do souls really burn forever?

The thought of"Hell" has made many a person a legalistic Christian. That is, they serve God from fear of punishment rather than an intelligent appreciation of His unfathomable love. Hell is said to be a place of torture for disembodied souls. Let us candidly examine this claim by the word of God.

What causes death? The bible makes it clear that "For the wages of sin is death; …" (Romans 6:23) and further "… when lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin: and sin, when it is finished, bringeth forth death." (James 1: 16). Again, "… as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12)

Our lord and Saviour has redeemed humanity by His infinite sacrifice on the cross of calvary giving our world a second chance at life. Scripture says "In him was life; and the life was the light of men." (John 1:4) "For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life." (John 3: 16)

It is clear that sin causes death and the "gift of God" is life. But what about the doctrine of hell? Does our all wise and everloving God burn His creatures who exercise their choice against Him. Is this the character of our God?

Let us examine the words for hell in the bible. "[Heb. she'ôl; [1]Gr. hadēs and geenna; the Greek verb tartaroō, "to cast (down) to hell," occurs once (2 Pe 2:4).] The word "hades' refers a place of death and the greek "geenna" refers to a place of punishment. Since our English word hell refers to a place of disembodied spirited being tormented in fire there is some confusion that occurs.

"Everlasting fire" and "eternal fire" are also used by some to establish the never-ending nature of the flames of hell. We have already seen that the words translated hell simply mean the grave and "geenna" is a place of punishment, let us look closer at the words translated 'everlasting" and "eternal" they are "olam "in the old testament and "anionios."

The scripture says "Even as Sodom and Gomorrah, and the cities about them in like manner, giving themselves over to fornication, and going after strange flesh, are set forth for an example, suffering the vengeance of eternal fire." (Jude 7) Sodom and Gomorrah were destroyed by "olam" or eternal fire but that fire turned"...the cities of Sodom and Gomorrah into ashes condemned them with an overthrow, making them an ensample unto those that after should live ungodly;" (2Peter 2:6)

Moreover, the fire destroyed Sodom and Gomorrah rather quickly. "For the punishment of the iniquity of the daughter of my people is greater than the punishment of the sin of Sodom, that was overthrown as in a moment, and no hands stayed on her."(Lamentations 4:6)  


In fact, the same eternal or everlasting fire will destroy the wicked, ""For, behold, the day cometh, that shall burn as an oven; and all the proud, yea, and all that do wickedly, shall be stubble: and the day that cometh shall burn them up, saith the Lord of hosts, that it shall leave them neither root nor branch. But unto you that fear my name shall the Sun of righteousness arise with healing in his wings; and ye shall go forth, and grow up as calves of the stall. And ye shall tread down the wicked; for they shall be ashes under the soles of your feet in the day that I shall do this, saith the Lord of hosts."(Malachi 4:1-3.) "But the wicked shall perish, and the enemies of the Lord shall be as the fat of lambs: they shall consume; into smoke shall they consume away." (Psalms 37:20)

The wicked will be as though they had never been. "For as ye have drunk upon my holy mountain, so shall all the heathen drink continually, yea, they shall drink, and they shall swallow down, and they shall be as though they had not been." (Obadiah 16) "Let the sinners be consumed out of the earth, and let the wicked be no more. Bless thou the Lord, O my soul. Praise ye the Lord." (Psalm 104:35.)

The second death is the final destruction of unrepentant sinners. "He that overcometh shall inherit all things; and I will be his God, and he shall be my son. But the fearful, and unbelieving, and the abominable, and murderers, and whoremongers, and sorcerers, and idolaters, and all liars, shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone: which is the second death."( Rev. 21:7,8)

The gift of God is eternal life and conversely sin when it is finished produces eternal death. "For the wages of sin is death; but the gift of God is eternal life through Jesus Christ our Lord." (Romans 6:23)


 Therefore, from our study the bible makes it clear that these words are used to describe the length of time that lasts as long as the subject lasts.

In our next study we will examine the use of "geenna."

Is Hell Real? Part 1

Using our principles of interpretation that we learned in our last lesson, we are equpped to follow God's instruction which says

 

"Do your best to present yourself to God as one approved, a workman who does not need to be ashamed and who correctly handles the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, NIV) "Handling the word of truth" involves correct interpretation of the bible "... not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Corinthians 2:13, KJV)

 

 

There is the popular teaching in Christianity that the soul of man will be eternally destroyed in hell where God sends the finally inpenitent. Is this the God that you or I serve? Or would want to serve? Would you be delighted to do God's will knowing that if you didn't, He delighted to slow roast you over an ever-burning fire.

 

Let's examine the bible caefully. A popular text used to support this idea is:

 

"And it came to pass, that the beggar died, and was carried by the angels into Abraham's bosom: the rich man also died, and was buried; And in hell he lift up his eyes, being in torments, and seeth Abraham afar off, and Lazarus in his bosom. And he cried and said, Father Abraham, have mercy on me, and send Lazarus, that he may dip the tip of his finger in water, and cool my tongue; for I am tormented in this flame." (Luke 16:22-24, KJV)

There are several inconsistencies that make it obvious that the parable is fictional. 

1. Lazarus dies, goes to "hell" and sees Abraham and the beggar from "hell"
2. The beggar goes into the arms of Abraham rather than God
3. Lazarus asks for water to cool him in "hell"?

These three are sufficient to prove that the story was not to be applied literally, but instead teach a spiritual truth. Jesus used 

a popular story in His day to capture the attention of His hearers. The Jews prided themselves that they were descendants of Abraham

"... We are Abraham's seed, and have never yet been in bondage to any man: how sayest thou, Ye shall be made free?" (John 8:33 ASV) Therefore, Jesus reached them at their level.

He was teaching them that there was no second probation after death. "And as it is appointed for men to die once, but after this the judgment," (Hebrews 9:27 NKJV) There is no second chance, no purgatory, only today. Jesus said "...Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts." (Hebrews 4:7 NKJV) "...Behold, now is the acceptable time. Behold, now is the day of salvation." (2 Corinthians 6:2 WEB)

In our next study we will examine the issue of how "hell" "eternal" and "everlasting" are used in the bible.

"The Paradox of Free Will" part 1

A question that puzzles many honest Christians is "how can an omniscience (all knowing) God allow sin and suffering? How come sin and sorrow is everywhere and God takes a hands-off approach? 

Firstly, the bible says "And there was war in heaven, Michael and his angels waging war with the dragon. The dragon and his angels waged war," (Revelation 12:17 NASB) 

Michael is the archangel from revelation, in 2nd Thessalonians, Paul says that He (Christ) will come with the voice of the archangel and the trump of God. therefore, we conclude that Michael is he Son of God. The dragon is called Satan in Revelation 12. Hence we see a struggle between the Son of God and Satan occurring in heaven. why did it occur?

The scriptures tell us that Satan was Lucifer in heaven, one of God's covering cherubs before he became Satan. We are also told that it was self-exaltation and self-centeredness that caused Lucifer's descent into sin. He said "I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will make myself like the Most High." (Isaiah 14:14 NASB) A mystery of mysteries, that sin could develop in a sinless environment but nevertheless it did. Lucifer apposed God's government of self-sacrificing love. A Love that "does not demand its own way. ... is not irritable, and it keeps no record of when it has been wronged." (1st Corinthians 13: 5 NLT)

Upon exercising the most longing entreaties that only infinite Love can employ,Satan chose rebellion. But before He left heaven he placed doubt in the minds of the other angels about the character of God. By "the abundance of [his] traffic they filled the midst of [him] with violence, and [he has] sinned:" (Ezekiel 28:16 WEB) 

Since Satan challenged the government of God in heaven and introduced doubt into the creatures minds, God had to vindicate His character. Satan said God was a dictator, He had a law that no one could keep, He said God was selfish and only wanted the praise of the creaurest. Additionally, given creatures have free will, a mere verbal account would not suffice in answering the charges that Satan brought against God.

God applied His Wisdom, His word to declare to men and to angels the nature of His government of Love. Scripture says "No man has ever seen God at any time; the only unique Son, or the only begotten God, Who is in the bosom [in the intimate presence] of the Father, He has declared Him [He has revealed Him and brought Him out where He can be seen; He has interpreted Him and He has made Him known]. (John 1:18 AMP)

Does the Bible say what it means? Part 2

Isaiah says "Whom shall he teach knowledge? and whom shall he make to understand doctrine? them that are weaned from the milk, and drawn from the breasts. For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little:" (Isaiah 28:9-10, KJV) Paul told Timothy, a young man full of faith and love for God "Study to shew thyself approved unto God, a workman that needeth not to be ashamed, rightly dividing the word of truth." (2 Timothy 2:15, KJV)

Set forth here are invaluable principles of biblical interpretation set forth by Jehovah Himself. God says that there must be careful comparison of scripture to arrive at truth. many christian will admit that the prophecies of the messiah written down in the old testament are beautifully fulfilled in the new. But how did the disciples come to the conclusions? When the Holy Spirit descended at pentacost, he illuminated the minds of the disciples to see the word of God differently. They correctly divided the word of truth and were able to prove and convince both jews and gentiles that Jesus was the Christ.

So today, as God is sending the beautiful message of His character, these principles need to be applied. Scripture must be compared with scripture to determine truth. Paul again says "Which things also we speak, not in the words which man's wisdom teacheth, but which the Holy Ghost teacheth; comparing spiritual things with spiritual." (1 Corinthians 2:13, KJV)

Spiritual things must be compared with Spiritual, scripture with scripture, line uopn line, principle upon principle.

Does God Determine My Fate?

"If God knows everything then why should I pray, He knows whether I will live or die and whether my friends will be saved or lost, so why pray?"

 God allows freedom of choice. Never will God force Himself upon His creatures, what an amazing thought! God knows that love cannot be commanded or controlled, only by love is love awakened. Though sinful and although He knows that His way is the only way for life and happiness He says"Come now, and let us reason together, saith the LORD: though your sins be as scarlet, they shall be as white as snow; though they be red like crimson, they shall be as wool." (Isaiah 1:18, KJV)

God invites us to reason, His Government is not founded on unreasonable control but intelligent faith. What does that mean for the person who believes that God has predestinated some people a certain way and others another apart from their choice. It is like saying  "I am a woman so I will never vote or I am black therefore I will always be a slave." In the 20th century both of these obsacles were overcome by people who chose otherwise than that of popular tradition.

Similarly, God has predestinated all men to be saved in Jesus Christ, but we have to choose to accept that salvation. God cannot do it apart from our choice. The Inspired apostle says "Wherefore, as by one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin; and so death passed upon all men, for that all have sinned:" (Romans 5:12, KJV) "Therefore as by the offence of one judgment came upon all men to condemnation; even so by the righteousness of one the free gift came upon all men unto justification of life." (Romans 5:18, KJV)

In other words, God has given His Son to humanity, and in so doing has given us life "in Him." Many persons refuse to pray or give up on life and the  future that God has already worked out in His Son simply through lack of knowledge.

Does the Bible say what it means? part 1

 ⁸ "My thoughts are nothing like your thoughts," says the Lord.And my ways are far beyond anything you could imagine. ⁹ For just as the heavens are higher than the earth, so my ways are higher than your ways and my thoughts higher than your thoughts. Isaiah 55:8-9 (New Living Translation) We closed our last lesson and saw that God's ways are not the same as man's. God modus operandi is unlike and altogether different from that of ours.

Since this is so, an enormous question confronts the honest seeker guided by the Spirit of God. How do I reconcile this thought with that of the many statements that seem to suggest that God personally and undoubtedly inflicts acts of physical, coercive and unbridled force to eliminate dissenters to His ways?

There are basic interpretative principles that the Word of God defines that enable us to identify Principles and Statements.

Principles are absolute declarations of truth, that is, they do not change. Statements, on the other hand, are brief declarations of truth that are based on principles. What does this mean? There are statements in the bible that suggest God destroys, kills and floods His creation into submission, but what is the underlying principle of these statements? Are these actions consistent with a God of love? In our sinful way of love definitely! We love when things are good, when they are bad we hate.

 

Remember that the Infinite God is not like finite man, "God is not a man, that he should lie, nor a son of man, that he should change his mind. Does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and not fulfill?" (Numbers 23:19, NIV) We learned too in our last lesson that God is changeless, infinitely righteous, self-existant (eternal), all knowing and all wise. If God is all wise and infintely righteous (always doing good) then would putting a creature to death be good? The bible says "Don't be deceived, my dear brothers. Every good and perfect gift is from above, coming down from the Father of the heavenly lights, who does not change like shifting shadows." (James 1:16-17, NIV)

 

Therefore, Principles in the word of God must guide our understanding of the word rather than statements or popular tradition.