| (Copyright 2021) by Avram Yehoshua (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
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| There is nothing in the New Testament, and certainly nothing in the Old, that supports Sunday as a day that has replaced the 7th day Sabbath of Creation (Gen. 2:1-3), which God gave to His chosen people Israel (Ex. 16:22-26; 20:8-11). There are three New Testament texts which the Church uses to try and support Sunday as the new day for the new faith, but these texts, once examined, do not prove Sunday observance, nor that Sunday has replaced the 7th day Sabbath.[1] There is scant writing about the first day of the week, as all the writers of the New Testament called Sunday. From just the perspective that the 7th day Sabbath had been part of God’s Law for Israel for 1,400 years before Yeshua (Jesus) was born in Bethlehem would seem to indicate that if a change had been made, there would have been ample New Testament Scripture to support it. There’s not one word that says that the 7th day Sabbath has given way to Sunday. Trying to equate the Lord’s Day with Sunday is also a futile task because nowhere in the New Testament is the first day of the week (i.e., Sunday) equates with the Lord’s Day.[2] Some try to explain why the Sabbath has given way to Sunday by pointing to the resurrection, but this, too, cannot be substantiated. There’s no Scripture that declares that because Yeshua rose on Sunday, the Sabbath has changed to Sunday.[3] The original theological reasons for why the Roman Catholic Church altered Sabbath to Sunday can be read in an article called Sabbath Denigration.[4] The Roman Catholic Church openly declares that there is nothing in the New Testament that supports a change from the 7th day Sabbath to Sunday and mocks the Protestant churches whose motto is Sola Scriptura, which means that only Scripture has divine authority to determine one’s faith and practice. The Roman Catholic Church, though, declares that it has the authority to change the day, and it did. Nowhere in the Word of God, though, does God delegate that kind of authority to Man (or a church). For instance, if God’s Word had said, ‘If you want to change the Sabbath day to another day, you can’ or something to that effect, then the Roman Catholic Church would have had the authority to do so, but there’s nothing in the Word like that.[5] Unless it is in God’s Word, Man is breaking God’s Word by changing what God has instituted—welcome to Christian Pharisaism. CATHOLIC WORDS ABOUT SUNDAY John Stoddard in 1826 points out the fact that the Bible gives no Scripture about Sunday replacing the Sabbath day: ‘A striking instance of this is the following: The first positive command in the Decalogue is to ‘Remember the Sabbath Day to keep it holy,’ and this precept was enforced by the Jews for thousands of years. But the Sabbath Day, the observance of which God commanded, was our Saturday. Yet who among either Catholics or Protestants, except a sect or two, like the ‘Seventh Day Baptists,’ ever keep that commandment now? None. Why is this? The Bible, which Protestants claim to obey exclusively, gives no authorization for the substitution of the first day of the week for the seventh. On what authority, therefore, have they done so? Plainly on the authority of that very Catholic Church which they abandoned and whose traditions they condemn.[6] Statements and confessions by Catholic dignitaries and official Catholic papers, along with Protestant realizations of the unbiblical tenure of Sunday, abound and some will be presented in quote form for all to see what the Catholic Church and a number of Protestants have said. Cardinal Gibbons, a famous 19th century Catholic archbishop in the USA, is quoted as saying, ‘is not every Christian obliged to sanctify Sunday and to abstain on that day from unnecessary servile work? Is not the observance of this law among the most prominent of our sacred duties? But you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify.’[7] Thomas Aquinas (1225-1274), a revered ‘Father’ and pillar of the Roman Catholic Church and a priest of the Dominican order, wrote, ‘In the New Law the observance of the Lord’s Day (Sunday) took the place of the observance of the Sabbath (Saturday), not by virtue of the precept (of God), but by the institution of the Roman Church and the custom (tradition) of Christian people.’[8] Gaspar de Fosso, the Archbishop of Reggio, remonstrated the Protestants in 1562 saying: ‘The Protestants claim to stand upon the written word only. They profess to hold the Scripture alone as the standard of faith. They justify their revolt by the plea that the Church has apostatized from the written word and follows tradition. Now the Protestants’ claim, that they stand upon the written word only, is not true. Their profession of holding the Scripture alone as the standard of faith is false. PROOF—The written word explicitly enjoins the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath.’ ‘They do not observe the seventh day but reject it. If they do truly hold the Scripture alone as their standard, they would be observing the seventh day as is enjoined in the Scripture throughout. Yet they not only reject the observance of the Sabbath enjoined in the written word, but they have adopted and do practice the observance of Sunday, for which they have only the tradition of the (Roman) Church. Consequently, the claim of ‘Scripture alone as the standard,’ fails, and the doctrine of ‘Scripture and tradition’ as essential, is fully established, the Protestants themselves being judges.’[9] In the doctrinal catechism by Rev. Stephen Keenan, officially endorsed by the then Archbishop of New York, the question is asked and answered: ‘Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?’ ‘Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.’[10] Karl Keating, a prominent Catholic apologist, and author, writing under the Imprimatur of the Catholic Church said, ‘After all, fundamentalists meet for worship on Sunday, yet there is no evidence in the Bible that corporate worship was to be made on Sundays. The Jewish Sabbath, or day of rest, was, of course, Saturday. It was the Catholic Church that decided Sunday should be the day of worship for Christians, in honor of the Resurrection.’[11]On 25 August 1900, the Catholic Press wrote: ‘Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only by Catholic principles. From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week [Saturday] to the first.’[12] The Catholic Mirror, the official publication of James Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893, stated: ‘The Catholic Church…by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.’13 Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50 wrote: ‘Question: Which is the Sabbath day? Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.’ ‘Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.’14 Lest[13] some think that the Catholic Church replaced the 7th day Sabbath with Sunday because of the resurrection, there is nothing in Scripture that speaks of Sunday replacing the Sabbath because of the resurrection. In other words, even though Yeshua rose on Sunday, Scripture does not speak of changing the Sabbath to Sunday because of that, meaning that it’s not God’s will to replace the Sabbath, even because of the Sunday resurrection, which actually was First Sheaf (First Fruits). God had already taken care of the celebration of His Son on First Sheaf, which falls on the Sunday of Passover Week.[14]Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975), Chicago, Illinois, wrote: ‘Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:’ ‘That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe Sunday, stultifies[15] them in the eyes of every thinking man.’ ‘We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.’ ‘It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible.’[16] T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18, 1884, said, ‘I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says, ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.’ The Catholic Church says: ‘No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.’ And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church.’18 PROTESTANT ACKNOWLEDGMENTS ABOUT SUNDAY An Anglican Archbishop of Quebec speaks about Sunday: ‘Toronto, Canada, Oct. 27 (BUP). —Rev. Philip Carrington, Anglican Archbishop of Quebec, sent local clergymen into a huddle today by saying outright that there was nothing to support Sunday being kept holy. Carrington defiantly told a church meeting in this city of straight-laced protestantism that tradition, not the Bible, had made Sunday the day of worship. He quoted the biblical commandment which said the seventh day should be one of rest, and then stated: ‘That is Saturday.’ ‘Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday,’ the Archbishop told a hushed, still audience. Local parsons read his comments today with set, determined looks. They refused comment.’[17] Anglican Episcopal Isaac Williams in Plain Sermons on the Catechism, vol. 1, pp. 334, 336, writes: ‘And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day…The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it.’[18] Canon Eyton in The Ten Commandments, pp. 52, 63, 65 writes: ‘There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday …into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters… The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday.’21 Bishop Seymour in, Why We Keep Sunday, says, ‘We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church.’22 Baptist Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, in a paper read before a New York ministers’ conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner, Nov.16, 1893, said, ‘There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week…Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament, absolutely not.’ ‘To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years’ intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question…never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.’ ‘Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history …But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!’23 William Owen Carver in, The Lord’s Day in Our Day, p. 49, states, ‘There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance.’24 Congregationalist Dr. R. W. Dale in The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129, wrote, ‘…it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath…(the) Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday…There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday.’ Timothy Dwight in Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258, writes, ‘…the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath.’ Disciples of Christ Alexander Campbell in, The Christian Baptist, Feb. 2, 1824, vol. 1, no. 7, p. 164, wrote, “‘But’ say some, ‘it was changed from the seventh to the first day.’ Where? When? And by whom? No man can tell. No; it never was changed, nor could it be, unless creation was to be gone through again: for the reason assigned must be changed before the observance, or respect to the reason, can be changed! It is all old wives’ fables to talk of the change of the Sabbath from the seventh to the first day. If it be changed, it was that august personage changed it who changes times and laws ex officio—I think his name is Doctor Antichrist.’25 (cf. Daniel 7:25) In, First Day Observance, pp. 17, 19 it states: ‘The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change.26 Dwight L. Moody Dwight L. Moody, in Weighed and Wanting (Fleming H. Revell Co.: New York), pp. 47, 48, wrote, ‘The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word, ‘remember,’ showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding?’27 Lutheran In the Augsburg Confession of Faith, art. 28, written by Melanchthon and approved by Martin Luther, in 1530, and as published in, The Book of Concord of the Evangelical Lutheran Church, Henry Jacobs, ed. (1, 91, 1), p. 63, it states, ‘They (Roman Catholics) refer to the Sabbath Day,’ having changed it ‘into the Lord’s Day, contrary to the Decalogue, as it seems. Neither is there any example whereof they make more than concerning the changing of the Sabbath Day. Great, say they, is the power of the Church, since it has dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments!’28 Dr. Augustus Neander, a well-respected Lutheran theologian, in The History of the Christian Religion and Church (1843), p. 186, wrote, ‘The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a Divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic Church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday.’29 In, The Sunday Problem, a study book of the United Lutheran Church (1923), p. 36, it states, ‘We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian Church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christians of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both.’ John Theodore Mueller in, Sabbath or Sunday, pp. 15, 16, writes, ‘But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel …These churches err in their teaching, for Scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect.’ Methodist John Wesley, the founder of the Methodist Church, in The Works of the Rev. John Wesley, John Emory, ed. (New York: Eaton & Mains), Sermon 25, vol. 1, p. 221, writes, ‘But the moral law contained in the ten commandments, and enforced by the prophets, he [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of his coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken…Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind, and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other.’[19] Harris Franklin Rall, in the Christian Advocate, July 2, 1942, p.26, wrote, ‘Take the matter of Sunday. There are indications in the New Testament as to how the church came to keep the first day of the week as its day of worship, but there is no passage telling Christians to keep that day, or to transfer the Jewish Sabbath to that day.’[20] Presbyterian T. C. Blake, D.D., in Theology Condensed, pp. 474, 475, writes, ‘The Sabbath is a part of the decalogue—the Ten Commandments. This alone forever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution…Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand…The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath.’32 SOME POINTS ABOUT SUNDAY There is not a single verse in the New Testament that states Sunday is the Sabbath or the Lord’s Day. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that states that the 7th day Sabbath has been altered, changed, abolished or replaced. On the contrary, Jesus speaks of being Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). There is not a single verse in the New Testament that commands Christians to keep the first day of the week (Sunday) as a day of rest, worship or holiness. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that states that Jesus ever kept the first day of the week (i.e. Sunday) as the Sabbath or even hinted at the Sabbath’s alleged nullification. There is not a single verse in the New Testament that applies to the first day of the week any sacred title (e.g. blessed or holy; Gen. 2:1-3) or pronounces any penalty for its non-observance (as does the Sabbath; Ex. 31:12-17). CONCLUSION It’s truly astonishing that the whole of Protestantism has followed in the Roman Catholic tradition of Sunday when, as Gaspar de Fosso, the Archbishop of Reggio said, If the Protestants “do truly hold the Scripture alone as their standard, they would be observing the seventh day as is enjoined in the Scripture throughout.” From both Catholics and Protestants come facts and confirmations that God has never replaced the 7th day Sabbath with Sunday. This was done by the fiat and audacity of the Roman Catholic Church. It’s perverse enough, and sin aplenty, for Rome to have changed the day, but to boast about it reveals the shamelessness of Rome. The Roman Catholic Church has led billions of Christians astray over the last 1,900 years, but God is restoring His holy 7th day Sabbath to those who desire His Truth over sinful Catholic traditions. Does any man (or church, which is made up of men) have authority from God to change His ways? Not according to God (Dt. 4:2; 12:32; Rev. 22:18). There isn’t any biblical support for honoring Sunday above other days. The 7th day Sabbath of the Lord God of Israel is still very much in effect. It’s not only a time of assembly and worship, it’s a full 24 hour day of holiness set apart to God that He has given to those who believe in His Son so that they can be refreshed by both not working and by seeking His Presence and praising Him and His Son. Daniel, 570 years before Jesus rose from the dead, wrote about what the Catholic Church would do in altering and destroying God’s holy Sabbath and Law: “He (the Pope) shall speak pompous words against the Most High, shall wear out the holy ones of the Most High, and shall attempt to change the sacred seasons (the Feasts of Israel) and the Law (Sabbath, etc.) and they Christians) shall be given into his power for a time, two times, and half a time.” (Dan 7:25 NRSV) The ‘time’ is over! The deception is being revealed for what it is—a satanic plot that has blinded the eyes of Christians for 1,900 years.[21] Jesus is calling all those who believe in Him to lay down their traditional interpretations for why Sunday, Easter and Christmas are kept and to pick up His Word and learn to walk in His Ways.[22] This is what ‘the Voice’ is wanting: Christians to come out of Rome’s pagan days and ways: “And I heard another Voice from Heaven saying, “Come out of her, My people! Lest you share in her sins, and lest you receive of her plagues!” (Revelation 18:4) Some might say that I can’t leave the ways (i.e., Sunday and Xmas) of my parents and friends, but Jesus said, “He who loves father or mother more than Me is not worthy of Me” (Mt. 10:37). God told Father Abraham, who is the Father and example of our faith in Christ (Rom. 4:12; Gal. 3:7), to leave his father, etc., and to separate himself from all he was familiar with (Gen. 12:1-3) so he could be blessed by God. ———————————————————————————————————– See Avram Yehoshua’s other articles at: Yehoshua, Avram – Church of God, Bismarck (church-of-god-bismarck.org) Reprinted with permission from: The Seed of Abraham https://www.seedofabraham.net/ ———————————————————————————————————– [1] For those three texts (and why the 7th day Sabbath is still valid) see Samuele Bacchiocchi’s, From Sabbath To Sunday (Rome: The Pontifical Gregorian University Press, 1977), pp. 90-131. It’s the definitive work on the issue of Sabbath and Sunday. [2] Nowhere in Scripture is the ‘Lord’s Day’ is equated with Sunday. The Lord’s Day in the Old Testament was the 7th day Sabbath (Ex. 16:23, 25, 29; 20:10; 35:2; Lev. 23:3; Dt. 5:12-14; Is. 58:13; Mt. 12:8; Mk. 2:28; Luke 6:5) and would also come to be seen as a term for Judgment Day (Isaiah 2:12; 13:6, 9; Jer. 46:10; Joel 1:15; 2:1, 11, 31; 3:14; Amos 5:18; Obadiah 1:15; Zephaniah 1:7, 14; Malachi 4:5; Acts 2:20; 1st Cor. 5:5; 2nd Cor. 1:14; 1st Thess. 5:2; 2nd Peter 3:10). [3] See The Resurrection and Mark 16:9. [4] See Sabbath Denigration. [5] Some might try and point to Jesus giving Peter the keys of the Kingdom (Mt. 16:9), but those keys didn’t authorize Peter nor anyone else from changing God’s Word. Those keys were symbols of authority to properly teach God’s Word, adjudicate between two or more grieved parties, and to legislate or make rules for the believing community, which of course would not mean to change, do away with, or pervert God’s laws (Dt. 4:2; 12:32; Luke 16:17; 2nd Tim. 3:16-17. [6] John L. Stoddard, Rebuilding a Lost Faith By An American Agnostic (New York: P. J. Kennedy and Sons, 1826), p. 80. [7] James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, The Faith of Our Fathers, originally published in 1876, pp. 111-112 (63rd edition); p. 86 (76th edition); republished and copyright 1980 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 72-73. [8] Thomas Aquinas, Summa Theological SS Q[122] A[4] R.O., paragraph four. [9] J. H. Holtzman, Canon and Tradition, published in Ludwigsburg, Germany in 1859, p. 263. Archbishop of Reggio’s address in the 17th session of the Council of Trent, Jan. 18, 1562, in Mansi SC, Vol. 33, cols. 529, 530. The Archbishop of Reggio (Gaspar [Ricciulli] de Fosso) made this speech at the last opening session of Trent (17th Session) reconvened under a new pope (Pius IV) on 18 January 1562. [10] Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism, Imprimatur by John Cardinal McCloskey, Archbishop of New York, Copyright 1876 by T. W. Strong, page 174. [11] Karl Keating, Catholicism and Fundamentalism, copyright 1988 by Ignatius Press, San Francisco, bearing the Nihil Obstat and Imprimatur of the Catholic Church, page 38. Writing ‘in honor of the resurrection,’ is a noble thought, but like the Pharisees before Rome, traditions based on noble thoughts are struck down by Jesus when they negate His Father’s commandments (cf. Mark 7:9). [12] Taken from http://www.nisbett.com/sabbath/sunday_not_lords_day.htm. 13 Taken from http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html. [13] Ibid. [14] See First Sheaf. [15] Stultify means, ‘to cause someone to appear absurd or foolish’ (from the Latin stultus ‘foolish’). [16] Taken from http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html. [17] News Item, Albertan (Calgary, Alberta, Canada), Oct. 28, 1949. [18] Taken from http://www.biblesabbath.org/confessions.html. [19] Ibid. [20] Ibid. The ‘indications’ that Rall refers to are Act 20:7 and 1st Cor. 16:1-3, neither of which speak of anyone keeping Sunday. Acts 20:7 speaks of the disciples meeting ‘on the first day of the week,’ at night, which would be Saturday night. The first day of the week, as do all the days of the biblical week, begin in darkness the night before; Creation Week being the model for the Bible week. In other words, the disciples met on Saturday night; Paul preached until midnight when Eutychus fell to his death (Acts 20:9-10f.). Paul raised him from the dead and continued to teach until dawn, when he left to travel away from Troas. Luke writes of this incident, not to say that Sunday had become the new Sabbath, but to reveal that Paul had the same power to raise the dead as Peter (see Acts 9:40). 1st Cor. 16 has Paul directing the Corinthians to put aside in their homes, not in the church, a weekly special gift for the poor Christians in Jerusalem, so that when he comes to collect it they will have something to give (cf. 2nd Cor. 9:1f.). [21] See The Lifting of the Veil—Acts 15:20-21 by Avram Yehoshua. The Lifting of the Veil reveals the New Testament’s position on the Law of Moses. The Church interprets the four rules of James (Acts 15:20) as table fellowship and completely misses God’s point. Understood from its Hebraic perspective the four rules are the theological foundation that establishes Mosaic Law for every believer. [22] See Law 102 for why many church interpretations against the Law of Moses are not biblical, and also, A Snapshot of Church History and Mosaic Law, The Feasts of Israel and the Church, Grace, Holiness and the Pharisaic Church,Hebrews and the Change of the Law, Nailed to the Cross—Col. 2:14, Romans 14 and the Dietary Laws. Take the Quiz! Five Quick Questions about the New Testament, Ten Ways Yeshua Fulfilled The Law, and The Sabbath and Yeshua. See Christmas—Its Origin for why Christmas is not Christians. The celebration of Easter is pagan and has absolutely nothing to do with the resurrection of Christ. Revised on Sunday, July 4, 2021. |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Sunday – The Catholic Sabbath Article by Avram Yehoshua Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| We are re-printing this article for what it says about the Seventh Day Sabbath not being changed to Sunday and I believe there is ample proof for that in this article. One thing I need to comment on however is when this article speaks of Christ’s resurrection being on Sunday. There is no place in scripture that speaks of a Sunday resurrection. Christ died and was put in the tomb on a Wednesday just before sunset and He rose 3 days later on a Saturday Sabbath just before sunset. |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Sunday – The Catholic Sabbath Article by Avram Yehoshua Comments by Avram Yehoshua (Tulsa, Oklahoma) |
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| Laura is right. There is no place in the New Testament that literally says that “Christ’s resurrection was on Sunday,” but the Apostle Paul strongly implies this when he states of Yeshua: “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1st Corinthians 15:20, 23) “Firstfruits” is the literal name of the Sunday of Passover Week. Contrary to how the Rabbis calculate it, which I won’t get into now, Firstfruits (also translated into English as First Fruits; First Sheaf; first grain; cf. Lev. 23:4-14, esp. vv. 9-14), has a specific ceremony for the first grain of the springtime being offered up to God, at God’s command. Yeshua is the first to rise from the dead and according to Paul, is the Firstfruits to resurrect. Paul would not have used that word for Yeshua, as the Firstfruits to rise from the dead if Yeshua hadn’t risen on Sunday. He would have said something like, Yeshua was the first to rise from the dead. “Firstfruits” is a technical term for the Sunday of Passover Week. Although Wednesday is a common held time by many, when Yeshua is said to have died and been buried, making it three days/nights to the Sabbath, Sunday is the day Yeshua rose because Sunday is also the first day of the old Creation (Gen. 1:1-5) and God copies or uses that as a model for the first day of the New Creation. I believe that Yeshua died on Thursday afternoon, was put in the Tomb on Thursday night, and rose on Sunday AM. I have an article or two on that also, but for now, three days and three nights? Nights: Thurs/Fri/Sat Days? Fri/Sat/Sunday Yeshua dies as the Passover Lamb on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and is raised on the Sunday of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread, as the First Fruits to rise from the dead, aligning Himself with the ceremony of First Fruits (and the first day of Creation). On the day of Firstfruits in Yeshua’s time, the High Priest of Israel held in his hand some finely crushed barley grain (symbolic of Yeshua; the Bread or Grain of Life being crucified/crushed), with olive oil in it (symbolic of the Holy Spirit within Him being poured out from His crushing/death), and incense (prayer), and he stood before Yahveh on that Sunday. He said, “Yahveh, You are a faithful God! You promised our Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, descendants as many as the stars of the Heavens, in this Land, and that You would provide food, etc., for them, which is life. Here I am, a descendant of our Fathers, in the Land you have given us, with the Firstfruits to rise from the Earth, symbolic of all the food You will give us this year.” He would then throw a portion of the grain on the Altar fire, sanctifying all the food to come, and Israel’s ability to now eat of the new barley grain. They could not eat of the new grain until this ceremony, picturing Yeshua’s death and resurrection, had been performed. At that time, Yeshua was saying to Mary, not to touch Him, for He needed to ascend to His Father (cf. John 20:17). He had obviously resurrected, but in ascending to His Father He must have said something like this: “Father, You are a faithful God! You promised Israel a Messiah, a Savior; One who would forgive their sins and One who would give them eternal life, and here I am.” This all happened on the Sunday of First Fruits, and this, Yeshua being called the Firstfruits to rise from the dead, and Sunday being the first day of the Old, and New, Creations, is why I believe that Yeshua rose on Sunday; not the Sabbath. The Sabbath speaks of the End of Creation, not the Beginning. I used to believe it was the Sabbath that Yeshua rose on, but I came to see that Paul wasn’t generalizing when He spoke of Yeshua being the First Fruits to rise from the dead, but specifically calling Yeshua that as it aligned with the Sunday of Passover Week and that’s Who Yeshua is: the Firstfruits to rise from the dead. Note also that Yeshua said that the Holy Spirit couldn’t be sent to Israel unless He went away (died). This made it possible for Israel of God (cf. Gal. 6:16) to be transformed into new creatures (2nd Cor. 5:17), able to house the Holy Spirit (and the Father and the Son). “Nevertheless I tell you the Truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) Also, the Lord was speaking of Himself as the Grain from Heaven when He said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) Laura is right. There is no place in the New Testament that literally says that “Christ’s resurrection was on Sunday,” but the Apostle Paul strongly implies this when he states of Yeshua: “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1st Corinthians 15:20, 23) “Firstfruits” is the literal name of the Sunday of Passover Week. Contrary to how the Rabbis calculate it, which I won’t get into now, Firstfruits (also translated into English as First Fruits; First Sheaf; first grain; cf. Lev. 23:4-14, esp. vv. 9-14), has a specific ceremony for the first grain of the springtime being offered up to God, at God’s command. Yeshua is the first to rise from the dead and according to Paul, is the Firstfruits to resurrect. Paul would not have used that word for Yeshua, as the Firstfruits to rise from the dead if Yeshua hadn’t risen on Sunday. He would have said something like, Yeshua was the first to rise from the dead. “Firstfruits” is a technical term for the Sunday of Passover Week. Although Wednesday is a common held time by many, when Yeshua is said to have died and been buried, making it three days/nights to the Sabbath, Sunday is the day Yeshua rose because Sunday is also the first day of the old Creation (Gen. 1:1-5) and God copies or uses that as a model for the first day of the New Creation. I believe that Yeshua died on Thursday afternoon, was put in the Tomb on Thursday night, and rose on Sunday AM. I have an article or two on that also, but for now, three days and three nights? Nights: Thurs/Fri/Sat Days? Fri/Sat/Sunday Yeshua dies as the Passover Lamb on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and is raised on the Sunday of the seven day Feast of Unleavened Bread, as the First Fruits to rise from the dead, aligning Himself with the ceremony of First Fruits (and the first day of Creation). On the day of Firstfruits in Yeshua’s time, the High Priest of Israel held in his hand some finely crushed barley grain (symbolic of Yeshua; the Bread or Grain of Life being crucified/crushed), with olive oil in it (symbolic of the Holy Spirit within Him being poured out from His crushing/death), and incense (prayer), and he stood before Yahveh on that Sunday. He said, “Yahveh, You are a faithful God! You promised our Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, descendants as many as the stars of the Heavens, in this Land, and that You would provide food, etc., for them, which is life. Here I am, a descendant of our Fathers, in the Land you have given us, with the Firstfruits to rise from the Earth, symbolic of all the food You will give us this year.” He would then throw a portion of the grain on the Altar fire, sanctifying all the food to come, and Israel’s ability to now eat of the new barley grain. They could not eat of the new grain until this ceremony, picturing Yeshua’s death and resurrection, had been performed. At that time, Yeshua was saying to Mary, not to touch Him, for He needed to ascend to His Father (cf. John 20:17). He had obviously resurrected, but in ascending to His Father He must have said something like this: “Father, You are a faithful God! You promised Israel a Messiah, a Savior; One who would forgive their sins and One who would give them eternal life, and here I am.” This all happened on the Sunday of First Fruits, and this, Yeshua being called the Firstfruits to rise from the dead, and Sunday being the first day of the Old, and New, Creations, is why I believe that Yeshua rose on Sunday; not the Sabbath. The Sabbath speaks of the End of Creation, not the Beginning. I used to believe it was the Sabbath that Yeshua rose on, but I came to see that Paul wasn’t generalizing when He spoke of Yeshua being the First Fruits to rise from the dead, but specifically calling Yeshua that as it aligned with the Sunday of Passover Week and that’s Who Yeshua is: the Firstfruits to rise from the dead. Note also that Yeshua said that the Holy Spirit couldn’t be sent to Israel unless He went away (died). This made it possible for Israel of God (cf. Gal. 6:16) to be transformed into new creatures (2nd Cor. 5:17), able to house the Holy Spirit (and the Father and the Son). “Nevertheless I tell you the Truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) Also, the Lord was speaking of Himself as the Grain from Heaven when He said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) |
| Iron Sharpening Iron In regard to: Sunday – The Catholic Sabbath Article by Avram Yehoshua Comments by Laura Lee (Bismarck, North Dakota) |
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| Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: Laura is right. There is no place in the New Testament that literally says that “Christ’s resurrection was on Sunday,” but the Apostle Paul strongly implies this when he states of Yeshua: “But now Christ is risen from the dead and has become the firstfruits of those who have fallen asleep…But each one in his own order: Christ the firstfruits, afterward those who are Christ’s at His coming.” (1st Corinthians 15:20, 23) Laura writes: 1Co 15:20 But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept. 1Co 15:21 For since by man came death, by man came also the resurrection of the dead. 1Co 15:22 For as in Adam all die, even so in Christ shall all be made alive. 1Co 15:23 But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. (KJV) 1Co 15:20 But now Christ has risen from the dead, and has become the firstfruit of those who slept. (MKJV) The New King James Bible has translated this verse to say “firstfruit” instead of “firstfruits”. Christ is the firstfruit (singular) of many that will be resurrected at a later time. There is nothing in 1 Co 15:20-23 to imply that the resurrection was on Sunday. In context it is talking about Christ being the firstfruit of the elect that will be resurrected and changed in the firstfruits resurrection. Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: “Firstfruits” is the literal name of the Sunday of Passover Week. Contrary to how the Rabbis calculate it, which I won’t get into now, Firstfruits (also translated into English as First Fruits; First Sheaf; first grain; cf. Lev. 23:4-14, esp. vv. 9-14), has a specific ceremony for the first grain of the springtime being offered up to God, at God’s command. Yeshua is the first to rise from the dead and according to Paul, is the Firstfruits to resurrect. Paul would not have used that word for Yeshua, as the Firstfruits to rise from the dead if Yeshua hadn’t risen on Sunday. He would have said something like, Yeshua was the first to rise from the dead. “Firstfruits” is a technical term for the Sunday of Passover Week. Laura writes: The day after Passover is the wave sheaf day where the firstfruits of the grain are waved. The wave sheaf can happen on other days of the week than Sunday. You are not telling us where you got the idea that the first Sunday of Passover week is called firstfruits and the only reference I could find to it is that Easter Sunday became known as firstfruits day which is logical since they like you believe Sunday is the day that Christ rose from the dead. Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: Although Wednesday is a common held time by many, when Yeshua is said to have died and been buried, making it three days/nights to the Sabbath, Sunday is the day Yeshua rose because Sunday is also the first day of the old Creation (Gen. 1:1-5) and God copies or uses that as a model for the first day of the New Creation. I believe that Yeshua died on Thursday afternoon, was put in the Tomb on Thursday night, and rose on Sunday AM. I have an article or two on that also, but for now, three days and three nights? Nights: Thurs/Fri/Sat Days? Fri/Sat/Sunday Laura writes: May I ask you why you do not believe what scripture says? Most of what you are saying here is no place in the bible, so you either have to be making it up or you are getting it from another source which is leading you astray. Even you believe that Thursday was a Holy Day the year Christ was crucified. In particular it was the First Day of Unleavened Bread. The Bible tells you exactly when Christ died and was buried. Mar 15:42 And now when the even was come, because it was the preparation, that is, the day before the sabbath, Mar 15:43 Joseph of Arimathaea, an honourable counsellor, which also waited for the kingdom of God, came, and went in boldly unto Pilate, and craved the body of Jesus. Mar 15:44 And Pilate marvelled if he were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether he had been any while dead. Mar 15:45 And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. Mar 15:46 And he bought fine linen, and took him down, and wrapped him in the linen, and laid him in a sepulchre which was hewn out of a rock and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulchre. That preparation day spoken of was for a high day, in other words the first day of Passover Week, Days of Unleavened Bread. See below: Joh 19:31 The Jews therefore, because it was the preparation, that the bodies should not remain upon the cross on the sabbath day, (for that sabbath day was an high day,) besought Pilate that their legs might be broken, and that they might be taken away. Joh 19:32 Then came the soldiers, and brake the legs of the first, and of the other which was crucified with him. Joh 19:33 But when they came to Jesus, and saw that he was dead already, they brake not his legs: Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: Yeshua dies as the Passover Lamb on the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread and is raised on the Sunday of the seven-day Feast of Unleavened Bread, as the First Fruits to rise from the dead, aligning Himself with the ceremony of First Fruits (and the first day of Creation). On the day of Firstfruits in Yeshua’s time, the High Priest of Israel held in his hand some finely crushed barley grain (symbolic of Yeshua; the Bread or Grain of Life being crucified/crushed), with olive oil in it (symbolic of the Holy Spirit within Him being poured out from His crushing/death), and incense (prayer), and he stood before Yahveh on that Sunday. He said, “Yahveh, You are a faithful God! You promised our Fathers, Abraham, Isaac and Jacob, descendants as many as the stars of the Heavens, in this Land, and that You would provide food, etc., for them, which is life. Here I am, a descendant of our Fathers, in the Land you have given us, with the Firstfruits to rise from the Earth, symbolic of all the food You will give us this year.” He would then throw a portion of the grain on the Altar fire, sanctifying all the food to come, and Israel’s ability to now eat of the new barley grain. They could not eat of the new grain until this ceremony, picturing Yeshua’s death and resurrection, had been performed. Laura writes: In the above scriptures it clearly says Christ was crucified and died on the preparation day for the high day. It does not say he was hanging on the stake on the high day or that he was buried the night of the high day. There is good reason why people believe that Christ died on Wednesday and was buried just before sunset on Wednesday and that He rose 3 days later on the Saturday Sabbath just before sunset and that is because evidence for that is found in the Word of God, the Bible. What you are teaching here is not in scripture. Christ was accepted by the Father as soon as he died. That is why the veil ripped in two. Mat 27:50 Jesus, when he had cried again with a loud voice, yielded up the ghost. Mat 27:51 And, behold, the veil of the temple was rent in twain from the top to the bottom; and the earth did quake, and the rocks rent; Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: At that time, Yeshua was saying to Mary, not to touch Him, for He needed to ascend to His Father (cf. John 20:17). He had obviously resurrected, but in ascending to His Father He must have said something like this: “Father, You are a faithful God! You promised Israel a Messiah, a Savior; One who would forgive their sins and One who would give them eternal life, and here I am.” Laura writes: I believe you should study your Bible a little more. Christ did not ascend to heaven until 40 days after His resurrection. John 20:17 is not saying what you believe it says. Check other bible versions, commentaries etc. Act 1:3 To whom also he shewed himself alive after his passion by many infallible proofs, being seen of them forty days, and speaking of the things pertaining to the kingdom of God: Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: This all happened on the Sunday of First Fruits, and this, Yeshua being called the Firstfruits to rise from the dead, and Sunday being the first day of the Old, and New, Creations, is why I believe that Yeshua rose on Sunday; not the Sabbath. The Sabbath speaks of the End of Creation, not the Beginning. I used to believe it was the Sabbath that Yeshua rose on, but I came to see that Paul wasn’t generalizing when He spoke of Yeshua being the First Fruits to rise from the dead, but specifically calling Yeshua that as it aligned with the Sunday of Passover Week and that’s Who Yeshua is: the Firstfruits to rise from the dead. Laura writes: Your story is not in scripture. Avram’s Iron Sharpening Iron: Note also that Yeshua said that the Holy Spirit couldn’t be sent to Israel unless He went away (died). This made it possible for Israel of God (cf. Gal. 6:16) to be transformed into new creatures (2nd Cor. 5:17), able to house the Holy Spirit (and the Father and the Son). “Nevertheless I tell you the Truth. It is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you, but if I depart, I will send Him to you.” (John 16:7) Also, the Lord was speaking of Himself as the Grain from Heaven when He said: “Most assuredly, I say to you, unless a grain of wheat falls into the ground and dies, it remains alone, but if it dies, it produces much grain.” (John 12:24) Laura writes: In John 16:7 Christ was talking about departing from them to go to heaven so He could send the Holy Spirit to them. In conclusion, Avram, I know you can do better by getting your information from scripture. You have to know that the Word of God the Bible is truth. What you are trying to teach here is not in scripture. |
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