The Moment of Truth - Lesson 33

The Great Trickery

Lesson 33

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Welcome to this lesson! Let's pray together:

Our Father,

After learning about the seventh day, the day of rest which You have blessed and hallowed, we are truly amazed to note that most Christians are instead keeping the first day of the week, Sunday.

Where does this change come from? And more important, did You allow this change?

May Your Holy Book give us the answers to these questions, and may Your Holy Spirit guide us in our study.

In Jesus' name we pray.

Amen.

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John 16:12

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I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. Here again, to properly understand this lesson, you must first have studied the previous lesson entitled ŤA Day to Rememberť.

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Deuteronomy 4:2

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You shall not add to the word which I command you, nor take anything from it, that you may keep the commandments of the Lord your God which I command you. Our preceding lessons have shown us that the Ten Commandments, which are the expression of God's will for us, will never be changed nor abolished.

Luke 16:17

[Jesus said,]

ŤIt is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.ť

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Among the Ten Commandments, we find this one: EXODUS 20:8-11

ŤRemember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy.

Six days you shall labor and do all your work, 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 manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is 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.

Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it.ť

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Genesis 2:2,3

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And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done.

Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made. God blessed the seventh day, and what He blesses is blessed forever.

Thus the fourth commandment, about the Sabbath, is as eternal as the other nine.

1 Chronicles 17:27

For You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever.

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Ecclesiastes 3:14

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I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.

Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it. So, where does the observance of the first day (Sunday) come from? Some people claim that the Word of God well and truly confirms this change of the day of rest. Is it true?

To get an answer to this question, let's look at all the verses in the New Testament mentioning the first day of the week.

There are only eight of them, and we will study them one by one to see if they really teach a change in the day of rest.

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5 of the 8 verses simply report the women's visit to Jesus' tomb:

ŤNow after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.ť (MATTHEW 28:1)

ŤVery early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the sun had risen.ť (MARK 16:2)

ŤNow when [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene.ť (MARK 16:9)

ŤNow on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other women with them, came to the tomb.ť (LUKE 24:1)

ŤOn the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still dark.ť (JOHN 20:1)

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John 20:19

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Then, the same day at evening, being the first day of the week, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled, for fear of the Jews, Jesus came and stood in the midst, and said to them,

ŤPeace be with you.ť Here again, there is no indication of a change of the day of rest.

Some people say that the disciples were assembled to celebrate the resurrection of Jesus. However, we see that they were actually assembled Ťfor fear of the Jewsť.

As for the resurrection of Jesus, they did not yet believe it at that time!

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Acts 20:7

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On the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread. The seventh of the eight verses mentioning the first day of the week reports a meeting in which the disciples broke bread.

For some people, breaking bread is an act certifying that Sunday was the new day of rest.

However, we see in the second verse that the disciples were gathering and breaking bread every day!

Acts 2:46

So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness.

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1 Corinthians 16:2

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On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. Finally, in this verse, some people see a collection of offerings during a meeting held on the first day of the week.

But Paul does not speak of a meeting. He actually advises the Christians in Corinth to store up offerings, each one at home, for a future collection.

So, none of the eight verses mentioning the first day of the week confirms the replacement of the Sabbath with Sunday as God's day of rest.

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Revelation 1:10

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I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day. In addition to the eight verses mentioning the first day of the week, we find this one which contains the expression Ťthe Lord's dayť.

Some people claim that this expression refers to Sunday, the new day of rest for Christians.

However, let's suppose for a moment that the expression ŤLord's dayť refers to a specific day of the week: would it be Sunday?

Let's look closely at the next verses.

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Exodus 20:10

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The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. The Word of God is clear: the one and only ŤLord's dayť is the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord.

Isaiah 58:13

If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day (...).

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Matthew 24:20

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Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath. In our previous lesson, we saw that while He was on earth, Jesus never implied that the day of rest should be changed from Saturday to Sunday.

On the contrary, He gave instructions for the future, such as this one, showing that He expected His disciples to continue keeping the Sabbath.

So, how did this Sundaykeeping begin in the Christian Church?

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Romans 11:13

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For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry. As the apostolic Church was growing, more and more Gentiles joined it, bringing with them some pagan customs which slowly mixed with the Christian form of worship.

Among these customs was the observance of the day of the Sun, the first day of the week, Sunday.

Around the third century, Sunday gained ground on Saturday which was increasingly associated with the Jewish religion, and thus the Sabbath was gradually abandoned.

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Acts 20:29,30

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For I know this, that after my departure savage wolves will come in among you, not sparing the flock.

Also from among yourselves men will rise up, speaking perverse things, to draw away the disciples after themselves. In our next lessons, we will see how the Word of God has foretold that men would change the day of rest, from Saturday to Sunday.

But for now, let's carefully read the testimony of the Roman Catholic Church itself, which willingly and openly acknowledges that it bears sole responsibility for the change of the day of rest.

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The Catholic Church, not the Bible, teaches the observance of Sunday:

ŤWe observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.ť
(Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1977, p.50.)

ŤIt is curious to recall that this observance of Sunday, which is the only principle of Protestantism, not only does not rest upon the Bible, but is in flagrant contradiction with the letter of the Bible requiring the rest of the Sabbath, or Saturday. It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to Sunday.ť
(Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today, 1868 ed., p. 207.)

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The Catholic Church recognizes that the Bible does not sanctify Sunday:

ŤYou 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.ť
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 1917 ed., pp. 72, 73.)

ŤIf protestants were following the Bible, they would worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church.ť
(Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, letter of Feb. 10, 1920.)

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The Catholic Church admits that Jesus and the apostles kept the Sabbath:

ŤThe Sabbath, the most glorious day in the law, has been changed into the Lord's day. (...) These and other similar matters have not ceased by virtue of Christ's teaching (for He says He has come to fulfill the law, not to destroy it), but they have been changed by the authority of the church.ť
(Archbishop Gaspare de Fosso, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova amplissima Collectio, 1902, vol. 33, pp. 529,530.)

ŤThe apostles, in fact, continued to observe the Sabbath, that is to say Saturday, (...) from Friday, at sunset, to Saturday at the same hour.ť
(Abbot Boulanger, Catholic Doctrine, p. 62.)

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The Catholic Church willingly recognizes going against the Word of God:

ŤNowhere in the Bible is it stated that worship should be changed from Saturday to Sunday. (...) Now the Church instituted, by God's authority, Sunday as the day of worship.ť
(Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About, 1927 ed., p. 136.)

ŤThe Catholic Church, (...) by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.ť
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.)

ŤIf we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is, Saturday.ť
(John Laux, A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, 1936 ed., vol. 1, p. 51.)

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Sundaykeeping is a recognition of the authority of the Catholic Church:

ŤSince Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn't it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not from the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes, of course, it is inconsistent. The custom of Sunday observance rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible. That observance remains as a reminder of the Mother Church from which the non-Catholic sects broke away - like a boy running away from home but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair.ť
(Roman Catholic scholar John A. O'Brien, The Faith of Millions, 1974, p.400,401.)

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THE CHOICE: the Bible and Sabbath, or the Catholic Church and Sunday.

ŤReason and sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible.ť
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, Dec. 23, 1893.)

ŤThe Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her Founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant, claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh Day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant.ť
(The Catholic Universe Bulletin, Aug. 14, 1942, p. 4.)

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Acts 5:29

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We ought to obey God rather than men. After having read all these eloquent testimonies, what will we choose: the commandment of God, or the tradition of men?

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Matthew 15:3

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Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition? During His ministry here on earth, Jesus met people who would rather keep their tradition than observe the commandments of God.

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Mark 7:7-9

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[Jesus said,]

Ť"And in vain they worship Me, teaching as doctrines the commandments of men."

For laying aside the commandment of God, you hold the tradition of men. (...)

All too well you reject the commandment of God, that you may keep your tradition.ť Now, choosing the tradition of men rather than the commandment of God was openly and straightforwardly reproved by Jesus.

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Ezekiel 22:26

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Her priests have violated My law and profaned My holy things; they have not distinguished between the holy and unholy, nor have they made known the difference between the unclean and the clean.

And they have hidden their eyes from My Sabbaths, so that I am profaned among them. Throughout history, there have always been all kinds of religious leaders influencing people to disobey the commandments of God and to profane the Sabbath.

Matthew 15:14

Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.

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Acts 17:10,11

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Then the brethren immediately sent Paul and Silas away by night to Berea. When they arrived, they went into the synagogue of the Jews.

These were more fair-minded than those in Thessalonica, in that they received the word with all readiness, and searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so. Fortunately, there have also always been people studying the Word of God to verify if the teachings of their spiritual leaders are well and truly in accordance with God's will.

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Ezekiel 20:18-20

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Do not walk in the statutes of your fathers, nor observe their judgments, nor defile yourselves with their idols.

I am the Lord your God: Walk in My statutes, keep My judgments, and do them.

Hallow My Sabbaths, and they will be a sign between Me and you, that you may know that I am the Lord your God. God calls us to reject the tradition of men which is honored all around us, in order to come back to His commandments, and to observe the day of rest which He designated from Creation: the seventh day, the Sabbath.

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Luke 11:23

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[Jesus said,] ŤHe who is not with Me is against Me.ť Now, each one of us must take a stand:

- following God and keeping His Sabbath;

- profaning His Sabbath and thus being against Him.

The choice is ours, and we cannot sit on the fence.

Joshua 24:15

And if it seems evil to you to serve the Lord, choose for yourselves this day whom you will serve, whether the gods which your fathers served that were on the other side of the River, or the gods of the Amorites, in whose land you dwell.

But as for me and my house, we will serve the Lord.

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Deuteronomy 30:15,16

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See, I have set before you today life and good, death and evil, in that I command you today to love the Lord your God, to walk in His ways, and to keep His commandments, His statutes, and His judgments, that you may live and multiply.

And the Lord your God will bless you in the land which you go to possess. Our future lessons on Bible prophecy will show us that the struggle is going to be more and more fiery between the commandments of God and the tradition of men.

And our choice between the two will be crucial...

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Let's close this lesson with a prayer:

Our Almighty Lord,

As the psalmist said, ŤYour word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my pathť (Psalm 119:105).

So many people are lost far away from You, not understanding Your will for them. But if they really wanted to turn to You, and open Your Word in a spirit of prayer, with the sincere desire to obey what You reveal to them, they would come out of darkness, forsake the tradition of men and keep Your holy Sabbath.

May we be Your instruments to bring them to Your Word, in Jesus Christ.

Amen.

The test of Lesson 33 is waiting for you!

The Great Trickery

The test of Lesson 33 is waiting for you!

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Copyright Š2002 Cyberspace Ministry