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Our Mission: Revelation 14:6-12
The Moment of Truth - Lesson 33
The
Great Trickery
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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
I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now.
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Here again, to properly understand this lesson, you must first have studied the previous lesson entitled «A Day to Remember».
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Deuteronomy 4:2
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.
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Luke 16:17
[Jesus said,]
«It is easier for heaven and earth to pass away than for one tittle of the law to fail.»
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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.
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Among the Ten Commandments, we find this one: EXODUS 20:8-11
«Remember 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.»
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Genesis 2:2,3
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.
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1 Chronicles 17:27
For You have blessed it, O Lord, and it shall be blessed forever.
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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.
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Ecclesiastes 3:14
I know that whatever God does, it shall be forever.
Nothing can be added to it, and nothing taken from it.
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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:
«Now after the Sabbath, as the first day of the week began to
dawn, Mary Magdalene and the other Mary came to see the tomb.» (MATTHEW 28:1)
«Very early in the morning, on the first day of the week, they came to the tomb when the
sun had risen.» (MARK 16:2)
«Now when [Jesus] rose early on the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary
Magdalene.» (MARK 16:9)
«Now on the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they, and certain other
women with them, came to the tomb.» (LUKE 24:1)
«On the first day of the week Mary Magdalene came to the tomb early, while it was still
dark.» (JOHN 20:1)
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John 20:19
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,
«Peace be with you.»
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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 «for fear of the Jews».
As for the resurrection of Jesus, they did not yet believe it at that time!
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Acts 20:7
On the first day of the week, the disciples came together to break bread.
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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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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!
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1 Corinthians 16:2
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.
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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
I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day.
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In addition to the eight verses mentioning the first day of the
week, we find this one which contains the expression «the Lord's day».
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 «Lord's day» 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
The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God.
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Isaiah 58:13
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on My holy day (...).
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The Word of God is clear: the one and only «Lord's day» is the seventh day, the Sabbath of the Lord.
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Matthew 24:20
Pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.
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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
For I speak to you Gentiles; inasmuch as I am an apostle to the Gentiles, I magnify my ministry.
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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
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.
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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:
«We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic
Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday.»
(Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 1977, p.50.)
«It 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.»
(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:
«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.»
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers, 1917 ed., pp. 72, 73.)
«If 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.»
(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:
«The 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.»
(Archbishop Gaspare de Fosso, Sacrorum Conciliorum nova amplissima Collectio, 1902,
vol. 33, pp. 529,530.)
«The apostles, in fact, continued to observe the Sabbath, that is to say Saturday, (...)
from Friday, at sunset, to Saturday at the same hour.»
(Abbot Boulanger, Catholic Doctrine, p. 62.)
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The Catholic Church willingly recognizes going against the Word of God:
«Nowhere 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.»
(Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About, 1927 ed., p. 136.)
«The Catholic Church, (...) by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from
Saturday to Sunday.»
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893.)
«If we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that
is, Saturday.»
(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:
«Since 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.»
(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.
«Reason 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.»
(Catholic Cardinal James Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, Dec. 23, 1893.)
«The 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.»
(The Catholic Universe Bulletin, Aug. 14, 1942, p. 4.)
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Acts 5:29
We ought to obey God rather than men.
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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
Why do you also transgress the commandment of God because of your tradition?
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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
[Jesus said,]
«"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.»
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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
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.
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Matthew 15:14
Let them alone. They are blind leaders of the blind.
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Throughout history, there have always been all kinds of religious leaders influencing people to disobey the commandments of God and to profane the Sabbath.
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Acts 17:10,11
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.
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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
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.
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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
[Jesus said,] «He who is not with Me is against Me.»
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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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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.
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Deuteronomy 30:15,16
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.
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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, «Your word is a lamp to my feet and a light to my path» (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!