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NASB | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God created the heavens and the earth. |
AMPLIFIED 2015 | Genesis 1:1 In the beginning God (Elohim) created [by forming from nothing] the heavens and the earth. [Heb 11:3] |
Subject: Remember the Sabbath; when? |
Bible Note: EdB, I am sorry I missed the earlier "explanations" given about the Sabbath and the observance thereof; therefore I am compelled to respond to this posting for two reasons: 1) this is a current discussion, and 2) your understanding is incomplete. Do not become offended by that statement. I am not writing this post to kindle any kind of debate or anger; you are to follow the scripture given and meditate thereon, and if your heart is not hardened, the Holy Spirit will give you a more complete understanding. Please do not disregard the meat of this post as splitting hairs or semantic points. The Adversary would have you to believe so, but everything is important to receive what God has for us. Our understanding of the observance of the Sabbath is more crucial to our salvation than most Christians realize. God ordained the seventh day for the Sabbath by merely acknowledging a seventh day; He then blessed it and sanctified it (Gen 2:2,3). He COMMANDED that on the SEVENTH day man was to rest from his work(s) as He rested from His (Ex 20:8-11). Keep in mind that this was a COMMANDMENT and not Law. The Law dealt with HOW to keep the commandments. Herein, lies the confusion. All commandments are orders, do this; don't do that. Most of the time, a command was given to a specific person, and, at all times, specific instructions were given in how to fulfill any given command. In the ten commandments, we have orders for living a life in God('s way). The Law as given by God through Moses was the specific instructions to keeping the commandments. By the time of Jesus' ministry, the Adversary had perverted the function of the Law. People began to view it as a means of salvation; they quantified and measured their holiness by it. It eventually led to a division of the people into two basic groups-the masses and the rabbis. The rabbis of the Pharisees and Sadducees viewed themselves as masters of the Law in knowledge and in deed. Because of their dominance in society, their physical mastery of the Law became a means to enslave or suppress the masses. In other words, they began to use the Law to secure their exalted status in society by bringing attention to the "unLawful" actions of others; therefore, if a person could not master the Law, they could not challenge the system which had become corrupted. Then came Jesus. Jesus broke the yoke of the rabbis. He condensed all the commandements and the Law (another source of confusion: by this time also, the Law was seen as covenential commandments as opposed to instructions to fulfilling the commandments) into two commandments: love God with all your heart, strength, mind, and soul; and to love your neighbor as you love yourself (Mt 22:37, Mk 12:30, Lu 10:27). Hence, the question changed from needing external approval, "Rabbi, am I doing this right," to internal review, "Am I doing this for God." Jesus' ministry accomplishes several things: fulfills the law (Mt 5:17,18); does away with the need for the temple (Mt 12:6), the high priest (Heb 3:1, 4:14), and rabbis or teachers (1 Cor 12:1-11); in fulfilling the Law, JESUS DID NOT DO AWAY WITH THE SABBATH; He taught the true observance of the Sabbath (Heb 10:1,2) and the correct relationship of man to the Sabbath (Mk 2:27). He did not, however, change the DAY-Friday evening to Saturday evening-on which the Sabbath was observed; this change was made by the Romans/Gentiles who had converted to Christianity. |