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Results from: Answered Bible Questions, Answers, Unanswered Bible Questions, Notes Ordered by Verse | ||||||
Results | Verse | Author | ID# | |||
1 | Who will claim the reward? | Col 1:1 | Norrie | 19043 | ||
rest of the story: "There's a fear factor among preachers," says Marcussen, on why churches don't have their members look into this issue. "They're afraid their sheep will start reading the Bible, and they know they'll lose their sheep." One expert who has spent his career researching and explaining the Sabbath debate is Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, a retired theology professor at Andrews University in Michigan. He tells WorldNetDaily two factors are responsible for the shift from one day to another: "Anti-Judaism caused the abandonment of the Sabbath, and pagan sun worship influenced the adoption of Sunday." Bacchiocchi says the Church of Rome, which grew into the Roman Catholic Church, had great influence in promoting Sunday observance. "The Church of the capital of the empire, whose authority was already felt far and wide in the second century, appears to be the most likely birth-place of Sunday observance," he writes in his book, "From Sabbath to Sunday: A historical investigation of the rise of Sunday observance in early Christianity." In May 1998, Pope John Paul II issued an apostolic letter on the subject, entitled Dies Domini (The Lord's Day). In it, the pontiff refers to the origins of Sunday-keeping. "In the weekly reckoning of time, Sunday recalls the day of Christ's Resurrection," writes the pope. "It is Easter which returns week by week, celebrating Christ's victory over sin and death, the fulfillment in him of the first creation and the dawn of 'the new creation.'" The pontiff goes on to state that though Sunday has become a time for cultural, political and sporting events, it has a significance that shouldn't be ignored. "Unfortunately, when Sunday loses its fundamental meaning and becomes merely part of a 'weekend,' it can happen that people stay locked within a horizon so limited that they can no longer see 'the heavens.'" Though Protestant churches have some significant differences with Catholicism, one thing often agreed on today is Sunday observance. "The church always met on Sunday throughout the New Testament," says Dr. Jerry Falwell, chancellor of Liberty University in Virginia. "Saturday is clearly the Sabbath as is recorded many times in the Old Testament. In Christian Church tradition, Sunday became 'the Lord's Day' when Jesus rose from the grave." The actual times of Jesus' crucifixion and resurrection are not universally agreed on either. "I personally believe he was crucified on Wednesday evening ... and rose after 6 p.m. Saturday evening," Falwell tells WorldNetDaily. "Others believe he died on Friday ... But the point is, he did rise on Sunday, which, in Jewish tradition, started the evening before at 6 p.m." Falwell is among those who believe which day is chosen is not of great significance. "I don't think Saturday or Sunday are more sacred than other days," he says. He also points out there have been so many calendar changes over the years, chronologists are not even certain that a day of the week in the 21st century matches the same day from centuries ago. Most scholars agree that biblical references to "the sabbath day" denote the seventh day of the week. But in the years to come after Jesus rose, the first day of the week came into competition with Saturday, and at times both days were being observed side by side. The ostensible church was divided on the issue, choosing different days to regard as holy. "It may be that Sunday was originally one of the [pagan] Roman festival days," explains Professor Efird at Duke, "but so were several others that the church adopted in its evolution, [for example:] Christmas." Marcussen condemns the change in day of observance. "It's the greatest hoax of all time, foisted upon the world for hundreds and hundreds of years," he says. His zeal on the matter reflects his belief that citizens of the United States and other countries will be forced to choose sides on the issue in the so-called "end time" mentioned in Scripture. "Sunday worship is the mark of the Papacy's authority," Marcussen writes in his book. "Sunday worship is the 'mark of the beast!'" Yet he insists he is not attacking anyone's faith, but rather trying to lead people to the Bible, Jesus, and eventually Heaven. "I love all these ministers who teach falsehoods," Marcussen says. "Many are honest - they're not all crooks - they believe Sunday is God's day ... this offer will help them find the truth." Marcussen expects his challenge to be eye-opening for many who never thought about the issue, and he thinks it will spark serious global attention. "The impact of this is going to be like an atomic bomb, it will mushroom all over the world." Editor's note: Marcussen is accepting regular mail from those seeking to claim the reward at: PO Box 68, Thompsonville, IL 62890 |
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2 | Who will claim the reward? | Col 1:1 | Norrie | 19049 | ||
I had to break this into 2 parts, I hope it doesn't confuse anybody. Anyway, I know the Bible doesn't say 'Thou shalt now worship on Sunday", but it doesn't say Saturday only either. The first Christians were Jews so Sat was normal for them but when the Gentiles came in, Sat was normal for them and Sat was the sign for Israel and God, Jesus did bring a new covenant so... | ||||||