thereby lessened, much less its binding claims done away with as preposterously claimed by many as to have been “nailed to the cross.” Many somehow forget or deliberately ignore one fact, among many others when discussing the Sabbath topic, and that is, Jesus was born of Jewish parents, was circumcised according to the Jewish custom on the eighth day, grew up, died, and resurrected—all in the only seventh-day Sabbath-keeping people of His time—the Jewish nation. At His crucifixion, the “tipping point of eternity,” the sacred record says: “The superscription over His accusation was written over these words” in Greek, Latin, and Hebrew, testifying to all and for eternity that Jesus was “KING OF THE JEWS.” Mark 15: 26; Luke 23: 38.
As to what day of the week the Sabbath was and is, at that time, was never in doubt or subject to debate. But something else was definitely a problem, causing the Sabbath to be profaned and made unholy, and it was not because another day, particularly the first day of the week was being observed. Christ’s prophesied work as “the Lord of the Sabbath,” of “magnifying the law and making it honorable” was to introduce a major overhaul in the manner, way, and spirit the Jewish nation, His chosen people then, was keeping the Sabbath.
By the time of Christ’s first advent dozens of man-made Sabbath laws had been added purportedly in order “to keep the commandments holy” but were, in fact, an act disobedience against God’s command “not to add or take away anything from His Word and His law. Deut. 4:2; cf. Rev. 22: 18, 19; Prov. 30:6; Eccl. 3:14. In so doing they only succeeded in carrying out Satan’s plan for by then the law of Ten Commandments and the Sabbath of the fourth in particular, had become a “burden, a “heavy yoke” to the people. In fact it was not God’s commandment but these man-made additions and traditions introduced by the religious leaders of the nation that were the heavy burdens imposed upon the people.
Over time these man-made laws and traditions superseded God’s laws, as all man-made, particularly church-made laws have, and will do. Since the “falling away” of the Christian church by the fourth century to develop the prophesied “man of sin,” the papacy, to become the “the abomination of desolation” persecuting power of God’s faithful, this is the very same nature of the final apostasy—the enactment and enforcement of the Sabbath-Sunday in the United States whereby this “lamb-like” nation would then have finally transformed into one “speaking like a dragon.” Rev. 13: 1-18.
In His wisdom God has appointed the way truth has and must be established before it is accepted as truth: in and by “the mouth of two or three witnesses,” i.e., credible, knowledgeable, and honest witnesses. That is why the apostle says this of prophetic interpretations, so prone to individual interpretations, that—
“We also have the prophetic word made more sure, which you do well to heed as a light that shines in a dark place, until the day dawns and the morning star arises in your hearts: knowing this first, that no prophecy of Scripture is of any private interpretation, for prophecy never came by the will of man, but holy men of God spoke as they were moved by the Holy Spirit.” 2 Pet. 1: 19, 20, N.K.J.V.
“No prophecy of Scripture is any private interpretation.” This also effectively eliminates, if not condemns all assertive speculations and mere opinions presaged by “this is what I think” without any effort to bring forth supporting evidences or principles from the written word as “unto the law and the testimony” (Isa. 8:20). Opinions, regardless of who says it, are what they must remain so until proven that such are in… (click “Next Post” to continue)