WHAT JESUS TAUGHT: THE LORD’S DAY SABBATH Jesus teachings on the Sabbath are tied to the book of Revelation in a couple different ways. First, John points out that he was “in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day” (Rev. 1:10). Though Sabbatarians and Sunday-observing Christians have debated greatly over this text, there’s no absolute proof as to which day John meant—seventh (Saturday) or first (Sunday). In my book “Victory in Christ: A Christ-Centered Approach to the Four Horsemen,” I offer biblically-compelling reasons for the seventh-day Sabbath (p. 27-30). But even if John were alluding to a different day, the point here is that John is speaking of an entire “day.” The second text is clearer. Revelation 11:19 introduces Revelation’s central worship scene, contained in chapters 12-14: “Then the temple of God was opened in heaven, and the ark of His covenant was seen in His temple.” In the Old Testament, God’s law, which contains the Sabbath commandment, was stored in the ark and situated in the Most Holy Place of the sanctuary (the Sabbath commandment, of course, is based on the seventh-day of Creation; Ex. 20:11). Revelation’s end-time message states: “worship Him who made heaven and earth, the sea and springs of water” (Rev. 14:7), a text that the UBS Greek New Testament linguistically ties to the fourth commandment of the Decalogue. For these reasons, the student of Revelation should be interested in what Jesus taught about the Sabbath. He spoke about the seventh-day Sabbath of Creation being made for man, not the other way around (Mk. 2:27, 28); since He is Creator and Lord, He would know (Col. 1:16). Jesus confronted the erroneous man-made teachings about the Sabbath and continually demonstrated the true purpose of the day, which included worship, doing good for others, physical rest and true spiritual rest in the Creator Himself. Outside of Jesus’ teachings in the gospels, we know that the Sabbath was instituted by Christ on the seventh-day of Creation; this is mentioned in the fourth Commandment of God’s law. The Sabbath was also used as a covenant sign between God and His people. The Sabbath is also mentioned regularly in relationship to the apostles throughout the New Testament, and is most likely the day that John refers to in the Apocalypse (since Jesus Himself claimed to be the Lord of the Sabbath and there are no references to the first day as the “Lord’s Day” this early in church history). Because we are familiar with what Scripture has to say about the Sabbath, I’ll conclude by drawing attention to other matters regarding this day. For example: * Two books have been written on the Sabbath in recent years. The first one, written by a Sabbatarian, is called “From Sabbath to Sunday. The second one, written as a response, is called “From Sabbath to Lord’s Day.” The first is about the perpetuity of the Creation Sabbath and the second attempts to show that Sunday is not a new sabbath. Interestingly, the vast majority of Sabbath-keepers have not read the second book. * Despite biblical scholarship to the contrary, strong voices—Protestant and Catholic—have spoken up in recent years for the observance of Sunday as the “Christian Sabbath.” The Reverend Pat Robertson (“The New World Order) and Pope John Paul II (Dies Domini—“Keeping the Lord’s Day Holy,” 1998), to name a couple. The new catechism (1994) reads: “Sunday…for Christians its ceremonial observance replaces that of the sabbath.” (Par. 2175) * There’s an ongoing debate over the “Lord’s Day” in Revelation 1:10, the last reference to the Lord’s Day in the Bible. Was John speaking of the seventh-day Sabbath, Sunday, or something more eschatological (in line with the nature of the Apocalypse)? * Because the seventh-day Sabbath (like the other days of Creation) is reckoned from sunset to sunset (and not from midnight to midnight), some Catholics hold that they are honoring the seventh-day Sabbath by attending Mass late Saturday afternoon. * Because Mark 2:27 states “The Sabbath was made FOR man (and not man for the Sabbath)” and then continues “Therefore the Son of Man is ALSO Lord of the Sabbath,” I’m led to wonder about the responsibility that each of us have for preserving and maintaining the sanctity of the Lord’s Day (Gen. 2:1-3), just as Christ entrusted humanity with dominion over the earth (Gen. 1:26-28; 2:15). * Though a number of Christ’s miracles appear to have been performed on the Sabbath intentionally, I believe it’s safe to say that Sabbatarian Christians as a whole actually spend little time, if any, on the Sabbath engaged in service to others. * Many Christians hold that the Bible places an emphasis on the “eighth day” (Sunday), the symbol of a new “beginning.” Beginning with Israel’s religio-agricultural year in the Old Testament, the eighth-day emphasis continues with the day of the Crucifixion and Pentecost. * During the fuel crisis of the 70’s, there was talk about closing businesses across American one day a week, to conserve fuel. The natural solution seemed to be Sunday. However, the editor of “Christianity Today” (Dec. 8, 1997), the Evangelical magazine, suggested that businesses be closed on Saturday, since there’s no biblical ground for Sunday worship. * There are many churches today that are still accepting the seventh-day Sabbath of Creation (or Saturday) as the day of worship. The number of Sabbatarians is large and significant (as reflected in Malachi Martin’s book, “Keys of This Blood-The Struggle for World Dominion,” 1990). * Because of ongoing attempts around the world to establish “Sunday laws” (for religious and other purposes), efforts to preserve religious freedom are ongoing.
Posted on: Sat, 13 Sep 2014 11:08:39 +0000
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