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Rank: Advanced Member  Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the holy sabbath day.....the Lord's' Day!
Genesis 4:7 (KJV)
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Isaiah 56:1-2 (KJV) 1 Thus saith the LORD,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
for my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it;
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV) 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction
(Jeremiah 17:21-23 KJV)
The Bible holy day is the Seventh Day.
Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Isaiah 58:
13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
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What part of the law of God has the papacy thought to change?
The Fourth Commandment.
"Catholics alledge the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's day, contrary, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue; and they have no example more in their mouth than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue." The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), part 2, art. 7, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Harper), vol. 3, p. 64.
"It [the Roman Catholic Church] reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's word and instituting Sunday as a holiday." N. Summerbell, History of the Christian Church (1873), p. 415.
Does the papacy acknowledge changing the Sabbath?
It does.
The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day. Sunday.'" Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same in slightly different wording, is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402.
Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the bible for santification of Sunday?
They do.
"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." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72,73.
How did Sunday observance originate?
As a voluntary celebration of the Resurrection, a custom without pretense of Divine authority.
Who first enjoined Sunday keeping by law?
Constantine the Great.
"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., art. "Sunday".
By what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden and Sunday observance enjoined?
The Council of Laodicea, in Asia Minor, fourth century.
What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's commandments?
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9
Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50.
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?"Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
[color=green]Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Sabbath.....*August 19–25 Living Wisely
Sabbath afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 5:1–20, 1 Cor. 5:1–11, Rev. 16:1–16, Col. 4:5, Prov. 20:1, Prov. 23:29–35, Acts 16:25.
Memory Text: “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise, making the best use of the time, because the days are evil. Therefore do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Ephesians 5:15–17, ESV).
Not long ago a crystal jug was placed on auction in the United Kingdom. The auctioneers described it as a “nineteenth-century French, claret jug,” estimating its worth at US$200. Two per- ceptive bidders recognized the jug as an extremely rare, Islamic ewer. Its true, appraised worth? £5 million (about US$6.5 million). What allowed that bidder to walk away with such a bargain? The bidder knew something that the auctioneer did not: the true value of the jug.
In Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul contrasts what pagans and believers valued. Pagans valued a racy story (Eph. 5:4), a drunken party (Eph. 5:18), and debauched sex (Eph. 5:3, 5) as the great treasures of life. Believers, though, know an ultimate day of appraisal is coming, when the true value of all things will become apparent (Eph. 5:5, 6). Instead of placing their bid on partying and drunkenness, they treasure, among other things, “all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV) in Christ. Paul, thus, urges them to snap up the bargains found in Christ as they live (as we all do) on the threshold of eternity (Eph. 5:15–17).
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, August 26.[/color]Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the first workday of the week.....the RCC/Protestant "self-made" holy day.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 96.
The Sabbath in the
New Testament
1. ACCORDING to the New Testament, what day immediately precedes the first day of the week?
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week." Matt. 28:1.
NOTE.-According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had passed when the first day of the week began.
2. After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed Jesus?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
3. What day is the Sabbath, "according to the commandment"?
"But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10.
4. What was Christ's custom respecting the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16.
5. In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence of the Sabbath long after His ascension?
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.
NOTE.-The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus occurred in the spring and summer of 70 A.D. The flight of the Christians took place three and one-half years earlier, or late in October, 66 A. D., following the arrival and sudden withdrawal of Cestius and his army. See readings in Chapter 68. of this book.
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6. On what day did the Jews meet for worship?
"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Acts 15:21.
7. On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
"They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." Acts 13:14.
8. When did the Gentiles request that Paul should repeat the sermon he had preached at Antioch on the Sabbath?
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath." Verse 42.
9. On what day did Paul and his companions preach to the devout women at Philippi?
"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." Acts 16:13.
10. What was Paul's manner respecting the Sabbath?
"They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 17:1,2.
NOTE.-It was Paul's manner, as it was Christ's custom (Luke 4:16), to attend religious services on the Sabbath.
11. How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at Corinth?
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; . . . and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent-makers." Acts 18:1-3. See Eze. 46:1.
12. What did he do on the Sabbath days?
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4.
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13. How long did he continue this work there?
"And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." Verse 11.
NOTE.-Here, then, were seventy-eight Sabbaths on which Paul preached in one city. The record further says that he worked at his trade, and we may justly infer that Paul worked at tent-making just as many Sundays as he preached Sabbaths. If to these seventy-eight Sabbaths we add the three he spent at Thessalonica, the one at Philippi, and the two at Antioch, we have a record of eighty-four Sabbaths on which the apostle held religious services, while, so far as the record shows, he held only one meeting on the first day of the week, and that a night meeting, immediately following the Sabbath. See Acts 20. Evidently Sunday was not the Sabbath in Paul's day.
14. On what day was John in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
15. Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
"The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28.
16. What, through the prophet Isaiah, does the Lord call the Sabbath?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
17. Why does the Lord call the Sabbath His day?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex.20:11.
18. Through whom did God create the world?
"God. . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, . . . by whom also He made the worlds." Heb. 1:1,2.
NOTES.-From beginning to end, the Bible recognizes but one weekly Sabbath,- the day upon which God rested in the beginning; which was made known to Israel at Sinai (Neh. 9:13,14); was observed by Christ and His apostles; and is to be kept by the redeemed in the world to come. Isa. 66:22,23.
The terms Sabbath, Sabbaths, and Sabbath days occur sixty times in the New Testament, and in every case but one refer to the seventh day. In Col. 2:16,17, reference is made to the annual sabbaths connected with the three annual feasts observed by Israel before the first advent of Christ.
The first day of the week is mentioned but eight times in the New Testament, six of which are found in the four Gospels, and refer to the day on which Christ arose from the dead. See Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19. The other two (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) refer to the only religious meeting held on the first day of the week after the ascension, in apostolic times, recorded in the New Testament and to a systematic accounting and laying by in store at home on that day for the poor saints in Judea and Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is the same as the Sabbath of the Old Testament, and that there is nothing in the New Testament setting aside the seventh-day Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
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The Law of God
As Given By Jehovah
As Changed By Man The RCC deleted the Second Commandment and split the Tenth Commandment into two commandments......this was done in their Catechism.
The Catholic Douay Bible has all of the Ten Commandments as given by God. But not their Catechism that the populace reads.
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Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927),p. 136.
"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. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made.
We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."
Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975),Chicago, Illinois.
"Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
"2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.
It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says,
Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18,1884.
'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church."
Protestant Confessions
Protestant theologians and preachers from a wide spectrum of denominations have been quite candid in admitting that there is no Biblical authority for observing Sunday as a sabbath.
Anglican/Episcopal
Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism , vol. 1, pp.334, 336.
"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day .... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it."
Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments , pp. 52, 63, 65.
"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday .... into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday."
Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday .
We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church."
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: sunday......August 20
“Instead Let There Be Thanksgiving”
In what sense does Paul intend believers to be “imitators of God”? See Ephesians 5:1, 2, NKJV.
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Paul urges the believers in Ephesus to walk in love, a call impor- tant to this section (see Eph. 5:8, 15). This “walking in love” (see Eph. 5:2) is to be modeled after Christ’s own love for us (compare Eph. 4:32), expressed in His atoning sacrifice. Paul affirms four things about that sacrifice: (1) It is motivated by both the love of God the Father (Eph. 5:1) and of Christ Himself (Eph. 5:2); (2) it is substitutionary, with Christ dying in our place. Christ is no passive victim but gave Himself up for us; (3) under the imagery of the Old Testament sanctuary service, Christ’s death is also a sacrifice, which is made to God; and (4) the sacrifice is accepted by God since it is “a fragrant offering” (Eph. 5:2, ESV; compare Exod. 29:18, Lev. 2:9, Phil. 4:18).
Ephesians 5:3–5 then introduces a section expressing concern for sexual ethics. The young converts in Ephesus are in danger of reversing their Christian calling and being drawn back into sexual behavior that would negate their Christian witness (compare 1 Cor. 5:1–11, 1 Cor. 6:12–20, 2 Cor. 12:21).
On the one hand, the Greco-Roman world of the first century exhibited the moral corruption and debauchery described elsewhere in the New Testament (see 1 Cor. 6:9, Gal. 5:19, Eph. 4:17–19, Col. 3:5). For example, banquets of the wealthy regularly featured the behaviors Paul decries in Ephesians 5:3–14: drunkenness, ribald speech, risqué entertainment, and immoral acts. In addition, urban centers provided anonymity and permissiveness that fostered immoral sexual practices. On the other hand, many in that society lived virtuous lives and served as advocates for strict morality. When the New Testament provides vice-or-virtue lists and household codes (e.g., Eph. 5:21–6:9, Col. 3:18–4:1), its authors mirror themes in the wider Greco-Roman world. This world, at once debauched and virtuous, helps explain Paul’s exhor- tations to avoid the immoral behavior practiced by the Gentiles while wishing for believers to be circumspect in their behavior and so to earn good standing among outsiders.
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In what ways are Paul’s words about sexual behavior applicable to your culture, wherever you live?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the second workday of the week.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 97.
The Change of the Sabbath
1. OF what is the Sabbath commandment apart?
The law of God. See Ex. 20:8-11.
2. What, according to prophecy, was to be Christ's attitude toward the law?
"The Lord is well pleased for His righteousness sake; He will magnify the law, and make it honorable." Isa. 42:21.
3. In His first recorded discourse, what did Christ say of the law?
"Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil." Matt. 5:17.
4. How enduring did He say the law is?
"For verily I say unto you, Till heaven and earth pass, one jot or one tittle shall in no wise pass from the law, till all be fulfilled." Verse 18.
5. What did He say of those who should break one of the least of God's commandments, and teach men so to do?
"Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven." Verse 19.
NOTE.-From this it is evident that the entire code of ten commandments is binding in the Christian dispensation, and that Christ had no thought of changing any of them. One of these commands the observance of the seventh day as the Sabbath. But the practice of most Christians is different; they keep the first day of the week instead, many of them believing that Christ changed the Sabbath. But, from His own words, we see that He came for no such purpose. The responsibility for this change must therefore be looked for elsewhere.
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6. What did God, through the prophet Daniel, say the power represented by the "little horn" would think to do?
"And he shall speak words against the Most High, and shall wear out the saints of the Most High: and he shall think to change the times and the law." Dan. 7:25, R. V.
NOTE.-For a full explanation of this symbol, see readings on "The Kingdom and Work of Antichrist" and "The Vicar of Christ," in previous chapters.
7. What did the apostle Paul say the "man of sin" would do?
"For that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition; who opposeth and exalteth himself above all that is called God, or that is worshiped." 2 Thess. 2:3,4.
NOTE.-There is only one way by which any power could exalt itself above God, and that is by assuming to change the law of God, and to require obedience to its own law instead of God's law.
8. What power has claimed authority to change the law of God?
The Papacy.
9. What part of the law of God especially has the Papacy thought to change?
The fourth commandment.
NOTES.-"They [the Catholics] allege the Sabbath changed into Sunday, the Lord's day, contrary to the decalogue, as it appears; neither is there any example more boasted of than the changing of the Sabbath day. Great, say they, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the ten commandments."- Augsburg Confession, Art. XXVIII.
"It (the Roman Catholic Church] has reversed the fourth commandment, doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holy day."- N. Summerbell, in "History of the Christians," page 418.
10. Why did God command Israel to hallow the Sabbath?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that 1 am the Lord your God." Eze. 20:20.
NOTE.-As the Sabbath was given that man might keep God in mind as Creator, it can be readily seen that a power endeavoring to exalt itself above God would first try to cover up or remove that which calls man's special attention to his Creator. This could be done in no other way so effectually as by setting aside God's memorial-the seventh-day Sabbath. To this work of the Papacy Daniel had reference when he said, "And he shall . . . think to change times and laws." Dan. 7:25.
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11. Does the Papacy acknowledge that it has changed the Sabbath?
It does.
NOTE.-"Question.- How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
"Answer.- By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feast days commanded by the same church."- "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," by Rev. Henry Tuberville, D. D., of Douay College, France (1649), page 58.
"Ques.- Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
"Ans.- Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her,- she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."- "A Doctrinal Catechism," by Rev. Stephen Keenan, page 174.
"The Catholic Church of its own infallible authority created Sunday a holy day to take the place of the Sabbath of the old law."- Kansas City Catholic, Feb. 9, 1893.
"The Catholic Church, . . . by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday."- Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Ques.- Which is the Sabbath day?
"Ans.- Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Ques.- Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
"Ans.- We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea (A. D. 336), transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday ."- "The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine," by Rev. Peter Geiermann, C. SS. R.., page 50, third edition, 1913, a work which received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X, Jan. 25, 1910.
What was done at the Council of Laodicea was but one of the steps by which the change or the Sabbath was effected. See under questions 17-21. The date usually given for this council is 364 A. D.
12. Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the Bible for the sanctification of Sunday?
They do.
NOTE.-"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."- Cardinal Gibbons, in "The Faith of Our Fathers," edition1892, page 111.
"Sunday is a Catholic institution, and its claims to observance can be defended only on Catholic principles. . . . From beginning to end of Scripture. there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first."- Catholic Press (Sydney, Australia), Aug. 25, 1900.
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13. Do Protestant writers acknowledge the same?
They do.
NOTE.-"Is there no express commandment for observing the first day of the week as Sabbath, instead of the seventh day?- None whatever. Neither Christ, nor His apostles, nor the first Christians celebrated the first day of the week instead of the seventh as the Sabbath."- New York Weekly Tribune, May 24, 1900.
"The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. . . . There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor of course any Scriptural obligation."- The Watchman (Baptist).
"The observance of the first instead of the seventh day rests on the testimony of the church, and the church alone."- Hobart Church News (Episcopalian), July 2, 1894.
14. How did this change in observance of days come about, suddenly or gradually?
Gradually.
NOTE.-"The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to the other."- "The Voice From Sinai," by Archdeacon F. W. Farrar, page 167.
This of itself is evidence that there was no divine command for the change of the Sabbath.
15. For how long a time was the seventh-day Sabbath observed in the Christian church?
For many centuries. In fact, its observance has never
wholly ceased in the Christian church.
NOTES.-Mr. Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England, says: "The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted that they derived this practice, from the apostles themselves."- "Dialogues on the Lord's Day," page 189.
Prof. E. Brerwood, of Gresham College, London (Episcopal), says: "The Sabbath was religiously observed in the Eastern church three hundred years and more after our Saviour's passion."- "Learned Treatise of the Sabbath," page 77.
Lyman Coleman, a careful and candid historian, says: "Down even, to the fifth century the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church, but with a rigor and solemnity gradually diminishing until it was wholly discontinued."- "Ancient Christianity Exemplified," chap. 26, sec. 2.
The historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle of the fifth century, says: "Almost all the churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this."- "Ecclesiastical History," book 5, chap. 22.
Sozomen, another historian of the same period, writes: "The people of Constantinople, and of several other cities, assemble together on the Sabbath as well as on the next day; which custom is never observed at Rome."- "Ecclesiastical History." book 7, chap. 19.
All this would have been inconceivable and impossible had there been a divine command given for the change of the Sabbath. The last two quotations also show that Rome led in the apostasy and in the change of the Sabbath.
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16. What striking testimony is borne by Neander, the noted church historian, regarding the origin of the Sunday sabbath?
"Opposition to Judaism introduced the particular festival of Sunday very early, indeed, into the place of the Sabbath. . . . The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect, far from them, and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin."- Neander's "Church History," Rose's translation, page 186.
17. Who first enjoined Sunday-keeping by law? Constantine the Great.
NOTES.-"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A. D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die Solis), with an exception ill favor of those engaged in agricultural labor."- Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article "Sunday."
"Constantine the Great made a law for the whole empire (321 A. D.) that Sunday should be kept as a day of rest in all cities and towns ; but he allowed the country people to follow their work."- Encyclopedia Americana, article "Sabbath."
"Unquestionably the first law, either ecclesiastical or civil, by which the Sabbatical observance of that day is known to have been ordained, is the edict of Constantine, 321 A.D.,- Chambers's Encyclopedia, article "Sabbath."
18. What did Constantine's law require?
"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by heaven."- Edict of March 7, 321 A. D., Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, tit. 12, 3.
NOTE.-This edict, issued by Constantine, under whom the Christian church and the Roman state were first united, in a manner supplied the lack of a divine command for Sunday observance, and may be considered the original Sunday law, and the model after which all Sunday laws since then have been patterned. It was one of the important steps in bringing about and establishing the change of the Sabbath.
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19. What testimony does Eusebius (270-338), a noted bishop of the church, a flatterer of Constantine, and the reputed father of ecclesiastical history, bear upon this subject?
"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these we have transferred to the Lord's day."-"Commentary on the Psalms," Cox's "Sabbath Literature," Vol. 1, page 361.
NOTE.-The change of the Sabbath was the result of the combined efforts of church and state, and it was centuries before it was fully accomplished.
20. When and by what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden, and Sunday observance enjoined?
"The seventh-day Sabbath was . . . solemnized by Christ, the apostles, and primitive Christians, till the Laodicean Council did, in a manner, quite abolish the observation of it. . . The Council of Laodicea [A. D. 364] . . . first settled the observation of the Lord's day."- Prynne's " Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath," page 163.
21. What did this council, in its twenty-ninth canon, decree concerning the Sabbath and Christians who continued to observe it?
"Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath], but shall work on that day. . . . If, however, they are found Judaizing, they shall be shut out from Christ."- Hefele's "History of the Councils of the Church," Vol. II, page 316.
NOTES.-Some of the further steps taken by church and state authorities in bringing about this change may be noted as follows:-
"In 386, under Gratian, Valentinian, and Theodosius, it was decreed that all litigation and business should cease [on Sunday]. . . .
"Among the doctrines laid down in a letter of Pope Innocent I, written in the last year of his papacy (416), is that Saturday should be observed as a fast-day. . . .
"In 425, under Theodosius the Younger, abstinence from theatricals and the circus [on Sunday] was enjoined. . . .
"In 538, at a council at Orleans, . . . it was ordained that everything previously permitted on Sunday should still be lawful; but that work at the plow, or in the vineyard, and cutting, reaping, threshing, tilling, and hedging should be abstained from, that people might more conveniently attend church. . . .
"About 590 Pope Gregory, in a letter to the Roman people denounced as the prophets of Antichrist those who maintained that work ought not to be done on the seventh day."- "Law of Sunday," by James T. Ringgold, pages 265-267.
The last paragraph of the foregoing quotation indicates that even as late as 590 A. D. there were those in the church who observed and who taught the observance of the Bible Sabbath, the seventh day.
22. What determines whose servants we are?
"Know ye not, that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are to whom ye obey?" Rom. 6:16.
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23. When tempted to bow down and worship Satan, what reply did Christ make?
"Get thee hence, Satan: for it is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:10,11.
24. What do Catholics say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?
"It was the Catholic Church which, by the authority of Jesus Christ, has transferred this rest to the Sunday in remembrance of the resurrection of our Lord. Thus the observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church."- "Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today," by Mgr. Segur, page 213.
25. What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's commandments?
"But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9.
26. When Israel had apostatized, and were almost universally worshiping Baal, what appeal did Elijah make to them?
"How long halt ye between two opinions? if the Lord be God, follow Him: but if Baal, then follow him." 1 Kings 18:21.
NOTE.-In times of ignorance God winks at that which otherwise would be sin; but when light comes He commands men everywhere to repent. Acts 17:30. The period during which the saints, times, and the law of God were to be in the hands of the Papacy has expired (Dan. 7:25); the true light on the Sabbath question is now shining; and God is sending a message to the world, calling upon men to fear and worship Him, and to return to the observance of His holy rest day, the seventh-day Sabbath. Rev. 14:6-12; Isa. 56:1; 58:1,12-14. See readings in Chapters 58., 98., 102., and 120. of this book.
WHO is on the Lord's side
Always true?
There's a right and wrong side,
Where stand you?
Thousands on the wrong side
Choose to stand,
Still 'tis not the strong side,
True and grand.
Come and join the Lord's side:
Ask you why?-
'Tis the only safe side
By and by.
F. E. Belden.
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Baptist
Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, a paper read before a New York ministers' conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner , Nov.16, 1893.
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week .... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament absolutely not.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . . But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!"
William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day , p. 49.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance."
Congregationalist
Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129.
" . . . it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath - . . 'Me Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday .... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."
Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258.
" . . . the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath."
9
Charles Spurgeon
Jesus did not come to change the law, but He came to explain it. (Mt 5:17-20) and that very fact shows that it remains, for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Assuredly there was no abrogation of law.
It was a wonderful exhibition of its’ far reaching sovereignty and of its searching character. Once more, that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in His life He willingly gave Himself to bear its penalty, though He had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “ “Christ hath redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV). But because the law asked only what it ought to ask…namely perfect obedience and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death, as the penalty for sin, death under divine wrath, therefore the Saviour went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. (Charles Spurgeon, Perpetuity of the Law of God. pp 4-7)
Dwight L. Moody: Now man may cavil as much as they like about other parts of the Bible, but I have never met an honest man that found fault with the Ten Commandments. Infidels may mock the Lawgiver and reject Him who has delivered us from the curse of the law, but they can’t help admitting that the commandments are right…they are for all nations and will remain the commandments of God through the centuries…The people must be made to understand that the TC are still binding, and that there is a penalty attached to their violation….Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey them (See Mat 5:17-20) Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting pp 11,15,16
The Character of God and His Law……
God Law
Just…Rom 3:26 Rom 7:2; Eze 18:5
True….John 3:33 Neh 9:13
Pure….1 John 3:3 Ps 19:7,8
Light…1 John 1:5 Prov 6:23
Faithful….1 Cor 1:9 Ps 119:86
Good…Nahum 1:7 Rom 12:7, 16
Spiritual…1 Cor 10:1-4 Ro 7:14
Holy…..Is 6:3; 1 Pet 1:15 Rom 7:12
Truth…John 14:6 Ps 119:142, 151
Life….John 14:6 John 12:50; Mt 19:17
Righteousness…Jer 23:6 Ps 119:172
Perfect Deu 32:4; 2 Sam 22:31 Ps 19:7, James 1:26
Forever… John 8:35, Heb 13:8 Ps 111:8; Luke 16:17
Dr. Carl Bath quotes in his church dogmatics……”Where the Holy Day becomes a day of man, society and humanity wither away and the demons rule”…De Quervain
Todays' Sabbath school lesson: Monday.....August 21 Walking as Children of Light
Paul writes, “Let no one deceive you with empty words, for because of these things the wrath of God comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6, NKJV).
Paul has identified those who practice various sins without shame or repentance, the “sexually immoral, or impure, or who is covetous” (Eph. 5:5, ESV). He has offered a blunt assessment: Those who are in Christ and des- tined to be participants in His future kingdom should not act like those who are not (Eph. 5:5). He now worries over the effect of “empty words”; that is, believers might be deceived by explicit language into thinking that sexual sin is not taboo, or might even be drawn into such sins themselves (Eph. 5:6). To be so deceived, warns Paul, risks God’s end-time judgment, “the wrath of God” that “comes upon the sons of disobedience” (Eph. 5:6, ESV).
The phrase “the wrath of God” is a challenging one. That it is the wrath or anger of God suggests a contrast to the usual, moody human variety (compare Eph. 4:31). It is the just response of a long-suffering and righteous God against stubborn commitment to evil, not a crazed, volcanic reaction to some minor infraction. Moreover, mentions of divine wrath most often occur in the context of inspired, biblical warnings about the coming judgments of God (e.g., Rev. 6:12–17, Rev. 16:1–16, Rev. 19:11–16). God warns of His own coming judgments—an act of grace, since human beings are “by nature children of wrath” (Eph. 2:3, ESV), subject to those judgments.
Why does Paul exhort believers not to become “partners” or “partakers” with sinners? (Eph. 5:7–10).
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Paul exhorts, “Walk as children of light” (Eph. 5:8) and continues with a further command: “and try to discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV). The pagan seeks pleasure through “sexual immorality and all impurity or covetousness” (Eph. 5:3, ESV). The believer’s goal is dramatically different, not to please oneself but to please God (compare Rom. 12:1, 2 Cor. 5:9, Heb. 13:21, which use the same Greek word, euarestos, “pleasing” or “acceptable”). The believer seeks to reflect the self-sacrifice of Christ (“walk in love, as Christ loved us and gave himself up for us,” Eph. 5:2, ESV).
What are some of the “empty words” that in our day and age we need to be wary of?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the third workday of the week.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 98.
The Seal of God and
the Mark of Apostasy
1. WHAT does the Bible present as the object of a sign, or seal?
"Now, O king, establish the decree, and sign the writing, that it be not changed." Dan. 6:8.
NOTE.-That is, affix the signature of royalty, that it may have the proper authority, and thus be of force. Anciently it was customary for kings to use a ring, containing their name, initials, or monogram, for this purpose. Jezebel, the wife of Ahab, "wrote letters in Ahab's name, and sealed them with his seal." 1 Kings 21:8. Of the decree issued under Ahasuerus for the slaying of all the Jews throughout the Persian Empire it is said that "in the name of King Ahasuerus was it written, and sealed with the king's ring." Esther 3:12.
2. What are the three essentials to an official seal?
To be complete, an official seal must show three things: (1) The name of the lawgiver; (2) his official position, title, or authority, and so his right to rule; and (3) his kingdom, or the extent of his dominion and jurisdiction. Thus: "Woodrow Wilson, President of the United States," "George IV, King of Great Britain," "Nicholas II, Czar of Russia."
3. With what is God's seal connected?
"Bind up the testimony, seal THE LAW among My disciples." Isa. 8:16.
4. Does the first commandment show who the author of the law is?
"Thou shalt have no other gods before Me." Ex. 20:3.
NOTE.-Who the "me" here spoken of is, the commandment itself does not state. Such a prohibition might come from any source. Any heathen could claim it as a command from his god, and, so far as the commandment itself goes, no one could disprove his claim.
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5. Does the second, third, fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, or tenth commandment indicate the author of the decalogue?
No; none of them.
NOTE.-The second commandment forbids the making of and bowing down to images, but does not in itself reveal who the true God is. The third commandment says, "Thou shalt not take the name of the Lord thy God in vain," but it likewise fails to reveal the true God and giver of the law. A worshiper of the sun might say he kept this commandment so far as it itself reveals what god is meant. So of the other commandments here referred to. In the last five commandments the name of God is not even mentioned.
6. Which commandment alone of the decalogue reveals the true God and Author of the law?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy man servant, nor thy maid servant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Verses 8-11.
OTE.-The fourth commandment alone reveals the name, authority, and dominion of the Author of this law. In six days, (1) the Lord (name); (2) made (office, Creator); (3) heaven and earth (dominion). This commandment alone, therefore, contains "the seal of the living God." By what is revealed in this commandment is shown what God is referred to in the other commandments. By the great truth revealed here all other gods are shown to be false gods. The Sabbath commandment, therefore, contains the seal of God; and the Sabbath itself, the observance of which is enjoined by the commandment, is inseparably connected with this seal; it is to be kept in in memory of the fact that God is the Creator of all things; and it is itself called a "sign" of the knowledge of this great truth. Ex. 31:17; Eze. 20:20.
7. What reason does God give for the Sabbath being an everlasting sign between Him and His people?
"It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever: for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed." Ex. 31:17.
NOTE.-The Sabbath is the sign, or mark, or seal, of the true God, the Creator.
8. Of what does God say the keeping or hallowing of the Sabbath is a sign?
"And hallow My Sabbaths; and they shall be a sign between Me and you, that ye may know that I am the Lord your God." Eze. 20:20.
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9. Of what besides a knowledge of God as Creator, is the Sabbath a sign?
"Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the Lord that doth SANCTIFY you." Ex. 31:13.
NOTE.-The Sabbath is the great sign of God's creative power wherever and however manifested, whether in creation or redemption; for redemption is creation- re-creation. It requires the same power to redeem that it does to create. "Create in me a clean heart." Ps. 51:10. "For we are His workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good works," Eph, 2:10. At each recurrence of the Sabbath, God designs that it shall call Him to mind as the One who created us, and whose grace and sanctifying power are working in us to fit us for His eternal kingdom.
10. What scripture shows that a special sealing work is to take place just before the letting loose of the winds of destruction upon the earth?
"And after these things I saw four angels standing on the four corners of the earth, holding the four winds of the earth, that the wind should not blow on the earth, nor on the sea, nor on any tree. And I saw another angel ascending from the east, having the seal of the living God: and he cried with a loud voice to the four angels, to whom it was given to hurt the earth and the sea, saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. And I heard the number of them which were sealed: and there were sealed an hundred and forty and four thousand of all the tribes of the children of Israel." Rev. 7:1-4. See Eze. 9:1-6.
11. Where did the apostle see this same company a little later, and what did they have in their foreheads?
"And I looked, and, lo, a Lamb stood on the mount Sion, and with Him an hundred forty and four thousand, having His Father's name written in their foreheads." Rev. 14:1.
NOTE.-The seal of God and the Father's name must refer to the same thing. The seal is the sign or stamp of perfection and God's name stands for His character, which is perfection. And the Sabbath of God, kept as God ordained it to be kept, holy, and in holiness, is a sign of this same thing- perfection of character. When this seal is finally placed upon God's people, it will be an evidence that His grace and His sanctifying power have done their work, and fitted them for heaven. In the world to come, all will keep the Sabbath, and will therefore have this seal or mark of sanctification, holiness, and perfection of character. Isa. 66:22,23.
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12. What is said of the character of these sealed ones?
"And in their mouth was found no guile: for they are without fault before the throne of God." Verse 5.
13. How is the remnant church described?
"Here is the patience of the saints: here are they that keep
the commandments of God, and the faith of Jesus." Verse 12.
14. Against what three things does the third angel of Revelation 14 warn men?
"And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God." Verses 9,10.
NOTE.-The beast represents the Papacy; the image to the beast represents another ecclesiastical body dominating civil power. See readings in Chapters 60. and 61. of this book. And over against the seal of God stands the mark of the beast, the mark of apostasy. Against this false and idolatrous worship and the reception of this mark, God sends this solemn warning.
15. What power mentioned in the thirteenth chapter of Revelation is to enforce this mark?
"And he [the two-horned beast] causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads." Rev. 13:16.
NOTE.-The two-horned beast is understood to represent the United States of America. See reading in Chapter 61. of this book. As this nation repudiates her principles of civil and religious liberty, and becomes a persecuting power, other nations will follow her example in oppressing those who refuse to yield their allegiance to God.
16. What does the Papacy set forth as the mark, or sign, of its power and authority?
"Question.-How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
"Answer.-By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of."- "Abridgment of Christian Doctrine," by Rev. Henry Tuberville, D. D., page 58.
NOTES.-In a letter written in November, 1895, Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Cardinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath, said: "Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act, . . . and the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical authority in religious things." See readings in Chapters 97. and 102. of this book.
The true Sabbath being a sign of loyalty to the true God, it is but natural that the false sabbath should be regarded as a sign of allegiance to apostasy. And such we find to be the case.
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17. What do papal authorities say of the observance of Sunday by Protestants?
"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church."- "Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today," by Monsignor Segur, page 213.
NOTE.-The statement here made is true, and a full realization of the fact will lead those who honestly, but ignorantly, have heretofore been observing Sunday as the Sabbath, to refuse longer to pay homage to apostasy and return to the observance of that which is the sign of loyalty to heaven,- the only weekly day of rest which God, in His Word, has commanded men to keep holy, the seventh day.
18. What will be the dragon's attitude toward the remnant people who keep the commandments of God?
"And the dragon was wroth, with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Rev. 12:17.
19. How strongly will this false worship and the enforcement of this mark be urged?
"That the image of the beast should both speak, and cause [decree] that as many as would not worship the image of the beast should be killed. And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads: and that no man might buy or sell, save he that had the mark." Rev. 13:15-17. See note under question 19 in Chapter 52. of this book.
20. Over what do the people of God finally gain the victory?
"And I saw as it were a sea of glass mingled with fire: and them that had gotten the victory over the beast, and over his image, and over his mark, and over the number of his name, stand on the sea of glass, having the harps of God." Rev. 15:2.
THE God that made the earth,
And all the worlds on high,
Who gave all creatures birth,
In earth, and sea, and sky,
After six days in work employed,
Upon the seventh a rest enjoyed.
The Sabbath day was blessed,
Hallowed, and sanctified;
It was Jehovah's rest,
And so it must abide;
'Twas set apart before the fall,
'Twas made for man, 'twas made for all.
R. F. COTTRELL.
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Medieval Scholastic philosophers and theologians, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure, held that all the commandments are a part of the natural law and are therefore knowable to all thinking people. They maintained that God revealed the commandments to Moses to remind humankind of its obligations, easily forgotten because of original sin.
Actually, these scholars were echoing a similar idea expressed by early Fathers of the Church, such as Tertullian and Augustine, that the commandments had already been engraved on the human heart before they were written on the tablets of stone.
Parallels to the Decalogue are found in the laws of other ancient peoples. In Egyptian religion, for example, the observance of certain precepts (prohibitions against theft, murder, and injustice) was necessary for entrance into the shrine of Osiris, god and judge of the dead. Biblical scholars feel, however, that the Ten Commandments differ from the moral codes of other ancient religious systems in their explicit monotheism, their doctrine of God's awesome majesty and boundless goodness, and their extension of moral obligation to the most intimate and hidden desires of the human heart.
In the New Testament, all the commandments are mentioned but never in a list of ten.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
A Doctrinal Catechism by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, p. 174
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act,… (A quotation from a letter written in November, 1895, by Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Carkinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath.)
WHO CHANGED THE
SABBATH SATURDAY TO SUNDAY?
Roman Catholic: No such law in the Bible "Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the Seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, all Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church outside the Bible." Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947
"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 sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Tuesday.....August 22
“Awake, O Sleeper!”
Read Ephesians 5:11–14. What powerful warning is Paul giving here, and how does this apply to our present situation?
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To understand Ephesians 5:11–14, it is helpful to observe that Paul repeatedly offers two exhortations, alternating between them: (1) live a God-honoring lifestyle as “children of light” (Eph. 5:8; see also Eph. 5:1, 2, 4, 9–10, 11, 13, 14); and (2) don’t live a sexually immoral, God- opposing lifestyle, exhibiting the “unfruitful works of darkness” (Eph. 5:11; see also Eph. 5:3 thru 8, 12).
We may mine the parallel exhortations in Ephesians 5:8–10 in order to understand Ephesians 5:11. Believers are to live before unbelievers as “light in the Lord” and “children of light” (Eph. 5:8). The whole point of doing so is to be seen, to make clear that “the fruit of light is found in all that is good and right and true” (Eph. 5:9, ESV). Paul, then, is advocating a strategy of showing forth God’s goodness. Believers are to expose the unfruitful works of darkness by exhibiting the righteous alternative for all to see.
Meanwhile, we may take the challenging, poetic language of verses 13 and 14 as Paul’s daring assertion that believers, by exhibiting “the fruit of the Spirit” (Eph. 5:9), may win worldlings to faith in Christ. The Spirit is like light and reveals hidden things: “But when anything is exposed by the light, it becomes visible, for anything that becomes visible is light” (Eph. 5:13, 14, ESV). When decadent living is exposed by the light, worldlings may see their behavior for what it is (“it becomes visible”), futureless and wrath-bound (Eph. 5:5, 6), and experience a darkness-to-light transforma- tion (“for anything that becomes visible is light,” ESV), the very change that Paul’s Ephesian readers have experienced as believers themselves (Eph. 5:8).
What are we to make of the poem or hymn in Ephesians 5:14, which uses language associated with the resurrection of the dead at the end of time (compare Eph. 2:1, 5) to issue a clarion call to awaken from spiritual slumber and experience the transforming presence of Christ? Since Isaiah 60:1–3, which Paul seems to reflect, is directed to God’s people Israel, we may view the hymn/poem of Ephesians 5:14 as a powerful appeal to Christian believers to awaken to their role as missionaries, refractors of the light of Christ in a darkened world (compare Phil. 2:14–16, Matt. 5:16).
7How do you live the kind of lifestyle that can expose works of darkness for what they are?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fourth workday of the week.....middle of the week....mittwoch.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 99.
The Lord's Day
1. FROM what time was Christ, the Word, associated with God, the Father?
"In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. The same was in the beginning with God." John 1:1,2.
2. By whom were all things created?
"Which from the beginning of the world hath been hid in God, who created all things by Jesus Christ." Eph. 3:9.
3. By whom were the worlds made?
"God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, . . . by whom also He made the worlds." Heb. 1:1,2.
4. How does Paul again express this same truth?
"For by Him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, . . . all things were created by Him, and for Him: and He is before all things, and by Him all things consist." Col. 1:16,17.
5. Was there anything made without Christ?
"All things were made by Him; and without Him was not anything made that was made." John 1:3.
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6. Was the Sabbath "made"?
"And He said unto them, The Sabbath was MADE for man." Mark 2:27.
7. Then by whom was the Sabbath made?
By Christ.
NOTE.-This conclusion is inevitable. If all things were made by Christ, and without Him was not anything made that was made, and the Sabbath was one of the things that was made, then it follows that the Sabbath must have been made by Christ. This being so, the Sabbath must be the Lord's day.
8. What did God do in the beginning on the seventh day?
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made." Gen. 2:2.
NOTE.-If all things were made by Jesus Christ, then He, with the Father, rested on the first seventh day from all His labor in the work of creation.
9. After resting on the seventh day, what did God do?
"And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Verse 3.
NOTE.-And inasmuch as this blessing and this sanctification of the day were a part of the making of the Sabbath as well as the resting upon the day, these also must have been done by Christ; for the Sabbath was made by Him.
10. How much honor is due to Christ?
"That all men should honor the Son, even as they honor the Father." John 5:23. "I and My Father are one." John 10:30.
NOTE.-In keeping the Sabbath, then, we honor Christ equally with the Father.
11. Did Christ keep the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16. "I have kept My Father's commandments." John 15:10.
12. Did Christ's followers keep the Sabbath after His death?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
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13. Did they observe it after His resurrection?
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 17:2. See also Acts 13:14, 42, 44; 16:13; 18:1-4, 11.
14. On what day does John say he was in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
15. What day does the commandment say is the Lord's?
"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord." Ex. 20:10.
16. By whose Spirit did the prophets write?
"The Spirit of Christ which was in them." I Peter 1:11.
17. What does the prophet Isaiah, speaking for God through this Spirit of Christ, call the seventh-day Sabbath?
"My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
18. Does Christ anywhere in the Scriptures ever claim any other day of the week than the seventh as His?
He does not.
NOTE.-We do not need to speculate as to what day is the Lord's, if we will but take the Word of God for our guide, for loyalty to which John was banished to the isle of Patmos. See Rev. 1:9.
19. If John, therefore, referred to a day of the week, on what day must he have been in the Spirit?
The seventh day.
NOTE.-No other day of the week in all the Bible is claimed by God as His day. During the second, third, and fourth centuries of the Christian era, when apostasy came in like a flood, men, without any warrant or command of Scripture, thinking to do honor to Christ and despite to the Jews who crucified Christ, began to neglect the Sabbath of the fourth commandment, and to honor the day of the week on which Christ rose from the dead, the first day, as "the Lord's day" until finally the Sabbath was almost wholly lost sight of, and the Sunday quite generally took its place. But there was no more warrant for this change in the divine and unchangeable law of God than there was for other errors and changes which crept into the professed Christian church during this same time, such as abstaining from meat on Friday in honor of the crucifixion; Mariolatry, or the worship of the Virgin Mary; the mass; purgatory; indulgences; prayers for the dead; saint-worship; and the human vicarship of Christ. There was no more divine authority for one than for the others. All came in through apostasy. The Bible knows but one true and living God, one Lawgiver, one Mediator between God and man, one Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ, one body, one Spirit, one hope, one faith, one baptism, and one Sabbath. See Jer. 10:10-12; Rev. 14:6, 7; 1 Tim. 2:5; Eph. 4:4-6; Ex. 20:8-11.
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"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.
" The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10 Commandments?"
"I answer yes".
"Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?"
"I answer yes".
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the NEW LAW, that he himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath.
But this theory is entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as holy days. The church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days."
John Laux A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies 1936, vol.1 p.51
What day is the Sabbath day?
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday."
Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.), p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on his labors, January 25, 1910.
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Wednesday......August 23 Snapping Up the Bargains
Paul concludes Ephesians 5:1–20 with two clusters of exhortations, Ephesians 5:15–17 and Ephesians 5:18–20, completing a section with sustained interest in sexual purity. The first cluster begins with the exhortation, “Look carefully then how you walk, not as unwise but as wise” (Eph. 5:15, ESV), restated as “do not be foolish, but understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV). In between is a call to make “the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV).
Consider Paul’s exhortations to live in a way that reflects prayerful, discerning wisdom (Eph. 5:15–17). What is the difference between walking not as fools but “wise”? Also, what does “redeeming the time” mean?
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In Ephesians, Paul has repeatedly used the common Old Testament metaphor of “walking” for how one lives (Eph. 2:2, 10; Eph. 4:1, 17; Eph. 5:2, 8). Here he uses the metaphor to encourage intentional discipleship. Just as you should “watch your step” when walking on a rough or darkened path, believers should “look carefully then how you walk” (Eph. 5:15, ESV). Because Ephesians 5:15 finds a parallel in Ephesians 5:17, we may look there for a definition of what it means to live as wise people. We do not look within for wisdom. To be wise is to reach beyond ourselves, to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV).
Paul also encourages intentional discipleship with a vivid image. In the phrase “making the best use of the time” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare “redeeming the time,” NKJV), Paul uses the verb exagorazō (compare Col. 4:5). Drawn from the marketplace, it is an intensive form of the verb “to buy” and means “to snap up the bargains” on offer as we await Christ’s return. “Time” here is the Greek word kairos, which describes a moment of opportunity. The “time” until the end is a promising period to be used to the full. It is also a challenging time because “the days are evil” (Eph. 5:16, ESV; compare Eph. 6:13, Gal. 1:4) and because “the course of this world” is dominated by “the prince of the power of the air” (Eph. 2:2, ESV).
As believers look toward the return of Christ, they live in a difficult time, one that Paul portrays as a hazardous but rewarding marketplace. They are to be as attentive in their use of the time that remains as are bargain hunters during a brief sale that offers steep discounts. Though we can’t buy salvation, the imagery is still apt: take promptly what is offered us in Christ.Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fifth workday of the week..come sundown begins the preparation, the sabbath is drawing on.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 100.
Walk as He Walked
1. THE way of the Christian life was set for us by Jesus Himself.
"He that saith he abideth in Him ought himself also so to walk, even as He walked." 1 John 2:6. "Leaving us an example, that ye should follow His steps." 1 Peter 2:21.
2. The footprints that Jesus set for us to follow, lead unvaryingly along the way of God's commandments.
"I have kept My Father's commandments, and abide in His love." John 15:10. "For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments." 1 John 5:3.
3. The pathway is the same today as when Jesus walked in Judea.
"Jesus Christ the same yesterday, and today, and forever." Heb. 13:8.
4. When it is shown that Jesus kept the seventh day holy as our example, many ask, "Why have not scholars and church-men found out that there is no Bible authority for first-day sacredness?
The answer is, They have found it so, and have freely declared the fact.
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Testimony of Eminent Men
5. The extracts that follow are from noted clergymen, scholars, and eminent writers, all of whom doubtless kept the Sunday as a matter of church custom. But they nevertheless bear witness that there is no Bible command for it.
Church of England Writers
Archdeacon Farrar: "The Sabbath is Saturday, the seventh day of the week." "The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to the other."- "The Voice From Sinai," pages 163,167.
Canon Eyton (of Westminster): "There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday." "The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday." "Constantine's decree was the first public step in establishing the first day of the week as a day on which there should be secular rest as well as religious worship. . . . Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters."- "The Ten Commandments," Trubners & Co.
Canon Knox-Little, replying to those who quote the example of Christ against the High-church ritualism, says:-
"It is certain that our Lord when on earth did observe Saturday, and did not observe Sunday." "If they are consistent, as I have said, they must keep Saturday, not Sunday, as the day of rest."- "Sacerdotalism," Longman Company.
Sir William Domville: "Centuries of the Christian era passed away before the Sunday was observed by the Christian church as a Sabbath."- "Examination of Six Texts," chap. 8, page 291.
Writers of Other Churches
Bishop Grimelund, of Norway (Lutheran) : "The Christians in the ancient church very soon distinguished the first day of the week, Sunday; however, not as a sabbath, but as an assembly day of the church, to study the Word of God together."- "Geschichte des Sonntags," page 60.
Dr. R. W. Dale (British Congregationalist): "It is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath. . . . The Sabbath was founded on a specific, divine command. We can plead no such command for the observance of Sunday. . . . There is not a simple line in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."- "The Ten Commandments," Hodder and Stoughton, pages 106, 107.
Dr. Lyman Abbott (American Congregationalist): "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament."- Christian Union, June 26, 1890.
Dr. Edward T. Hiscock (Baptist): "There was and is a commandment to 'keep holy the Sabbath day,' but that Sabbath was not Sunday. It will, however, be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week. . . . Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament- absolutely not."- The New York Examiner, Nov. 16, 1893.
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Dr. D. H. Lucas (Disciple): "There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day the Lord's day."- Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890.
Cardinal Gibbons (Roman Catholic): "You may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday."- "Faith of Our Fathers," edition 1892, page 111.
Prize Essay of American Sunday-school Union: "Up to the time of Christ's death, no change had been made in the day. . . . So far as the record shows, they [the apostles] did not give any explicit command enjoining the abandonment of the seventh-day Sabbath, and its observance on the first day of the week."- "Lord's Day, ' pages 185, 186.
Encyclopedias and Church Manuals
"Dictionary of Christian Antiquities:" "The notion of a formal substitution by apostolic authority of the Lord's day [meaning Sunday] for the Jewish Sabbath, and the transference to it, perhaps in a spiritualized form, of the Sabbatical obligation established by the promulgation of the fourth commandment, has no basis whatever, either in the Holy Scriptures or in Christian antiquity."- Article "Sabbath," Smith and Cheetham.
"Cyclopedia of Biblical Theology:" "It must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day."- Article "Sabbath," McClintock and Strong.
Methodist Episcopal "Theological Compend," by Amos Binney: "It is true, there is no positive command for infant baptism. . . . Nor is there any for keeping holy the first day of the week."- Pages 180, 181.
Protestant Episcopal "Manual of Christian Doctrine:" "Is there any command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday?- None."- Page 127.
Protestant Episcopal "Explanation of Catechism:" "The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day; . . . but as we meet with no Scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church."
6. What influence do the Bible and history show working in the church immediately after apostolic days?
"Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:30.
NOTE.-"In the interval between the days of the apostles and the conversion of Constantine, the Christian commonwealth changed its aspect. . . . Rites and ceremonies of which neither Paul nor Peter ever heard, crept silently into use, and then claimed the rank of divine institutions."- Dr. W. D. Killen's (Presbyterian) "The Ancient Church," Preface.
7. What did Christ say of worship based upon I the commandments of men?
"In vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9.
8. What did He say should be done with every plant not planted by God?
"Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Verse 13.
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"The Catholic 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
"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church." Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today (1868), p. 213
Exodus 20: 8-11,
(8) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: (10) But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the Seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Colossians 2:8 warns us to:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
What power has claimed authority to change God's law?
The Papacy in Rome.
"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even Divine Laws...The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth." Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (Ready Library), "Papa", art. 2.
What part of the law of God has the papacy thought to change?
The Fourth Commandment.
"Catholics alledge the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's day, contrary, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue; and they have no example more in their mouth than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue." The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), part 2, art. 7, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Harper), vol. 3, p. 64.
"It [the Roman Catholic Church] reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's word and instituting Sunday as a holiday." N. Summerbell, History of the Christian Church (1873), p. 415.
Does the papacy acknowledge changing the Sabbath?
It does.
The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day. Sunday.'" Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same in slightly different wording, is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402.
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Thursday....August 24 Spirit-Filled Worship
In Ephesians 5:18–20, Paul imagines Christians gathered to worship. What does he depict them as doing in that worship?
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In his final argument in Ephesians 5:1–20, Paul urges believers to turn away from the mind-numbing use of wine and instead experience together the presence and power of the Spirit. Paul bans drunkenness (probably with a quotation from Proverbs 23:31 in the Greek ver- sion of the Old Testament), suggesting he has in mind the injunctions against the use of alcohol as seen in the wisdom literature (Prov. 20:1, Prov. 23:29–35). The evil things that come in the wake of drunken- ness include crude, sexually explicit speech, mindlessness, immorality, and idolatry (Eph. 5:3–14).
These are to be exchanged for thoughtful, Spirit-inspired worship of God. Paul’s exhortation to be filled with the Spirit is a key one that is modified by a series of verbs in Ephesians 5:19–21 (“speaking”; “singing and making melody”; “giving thanks”; “submitting yourselves”).
Paul here applies the exhortation to “be filled with the Spirit” (Eph. 5:18) corporately, imagining believers gathering in Spirit-inspired worship of God that nourishes unity (Ephesians 4) and that stands in contrast with egocentric, pagan behavior and worship (Eph. 5:1–18). In this sketch of early Christian worship, musical praise dominates. It has been argued that the church was born in song; and this passage, together with Colossians 3:16, provides the best evidence for the claim (compare Acts 16:25, James 5:13).
There is a “horizontal” element to worship since, in singing, church members are in a sense “speaking to one another” (Eph. 5:19, NKJV). However, the specific object of the musical praise is the Lord, which, as indicated in Ephesians 5:20, identifies “the Lord Jesus Christ” (com- pare Col. 3:16).
The thanksgiving of Ephesians 5:20, described in parallel to the musical praise of Ephesians 5:19, is to be offered “unto God the Father in the name of our Lord Jesus Christ.” In the phrase “spiritual songs,” the adjective “spiritual” (Greek, pneumatikos) highlights the role of the Holy Spirit in worship since the term describes songs that are inspired by or filled with the Holy Spirit. Paul’s sketch of early Christian worship, then, portrays all three members of the Godhead as active participants.
How can you use music to enhance your own worship experience?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the preparation, the sabbath is drawing on.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 101.
The Sabbath in History
1. WHEN and by what acts was the Sabbath made?
"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made." Gen. 2:2,3.
2. What division of time is marked off by the Sabbath?
The week.
NOTES.-"One of the most striking collateral confirmations of the Mosaic history of the creation is the general adoption of the division of time into weeks, which extends from the Christian states of Europe to the remote shores of Hindustan, and has equally prevailed among the Hebrews. the Egyptians, Chinese, Greeks, Romans, and northern barbarians,- nations some of whom had little or no intercourse with others, and were not even known by name to the Hebrews."- Home's "Introduction to the Critical Study and Knowledge of the Holy Scriptures," Vol. I, page 69, edition 1841.
"Seven has been the ancient and honored number among the nations of the earth. They have measured their time by weeks from the beginning. The original of this was the Sabbath of God, as Moses has given the reasons for it in his writings."- "Brief Dissertation on the First Three Chapters of Genesis," by Dr. Lyman Coleman, page 26.
Gen. 7:4,10; 8:10,12, show that the week was known at the time of the flood.
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3. How widely recognized is the seventh-day Sabbath
in the different languages of the world today?
It is very generally so recognized.
NOTE.-Some years ago the late Dr. William Mead Jones, of London, published a "Chart of the Week," showing the style of the weekly cycle and the designations of the different days of the week in one hundred and sixty different languages. This chart shows very vividly that the seven-day period, or week, was known from the most ancient times, and that in no fewer than one hundred and eight of these languages the seventh day is designated as the Sabbath, or holy day. The following is from this chart:-
English The seventh day The Sabbath
Hebrew Shabbath Sabbath
Greek Sabbaton Sabbath
Latin Sabbatum Sabbath
Arabic Assabt The Sabbath
Persian Shambin Sabbath
Armenian Shapat Sabbath
Turkish Yomessabt Day the Sabbath
Abyssinian Sanbat Sabbath
Russian Subbota Sabbath
Polish Sobota Sabbath
Hindustani Shamba Sabbath
Malay Ari-Sabtu Day Sabbath
Afghan Shamba Sabbath
German Samstag Sabbath
Prussian Sabatico Sabbath
French Samedi Sabbath day
Italian Sabbato Sabbath
Spanish Sabado Sabbath
Portuguese Sabbado Sabbath
4. What reason did God assign at Sinai for having blessed and set apart the seventh day as a day of holy rest?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day." Ex. 20:11.
5. What promise did God make to Israel, through Jeremiah, if they would keep the Sabbath?
"And it shall come to pass, if ye diligently harken unto Me, saith the Lord, to bring in no burden through the gates of this city on the Sabbath day, but hallow the Sabbath day, to do no work therein; then shall there enter into the gates of this city kings and princes sitting upon the throne of David, riding in chariots and on horses, they, and their princes, the men of Judah, and the inhabitants of Jerusalem: and this city shall remain forever." Jer. 17:24,25.
6. What did He say would happen if they did not hallow the, Sabbath day?
"But if ye will not harken unto Me to hallow the Sabbath day, and not to bear a burden, even entering in at the gates of Jerusalem on the Sabbath day; then will I kindle a fire in the gates thereof, and it shall devour the palaces of Jerusalem, and it shall not be quenched." Verse 27.
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7. What befell the city of Jerusalem when it was captured by Nebuchadnezzar, king of Babylon, in 588 B.C.?
"And all the vessels of the house of God. . . he brought to Babylon. And they burnt the house of God, and brake down the wall of Jerusalem, and burnt all the palaces thereof with fire." 2 Chron. 36:18,19.
8. Why was this done?
"To fulfil the word of the Lord by the mouth of Jeremiah, until the land had enjoyed her sabbaths: for as long as she lay desolate she kept sabbath." Verse 21.
NOTE.-Sabbath Israel's Babylonish captivity, under Nebuchadnezzar and his sons, was seventy years long because that for 420 years, or for six times seventy years,- from the days of Solomon to Nebuchadnezzar's time,- they had largely neglected to keep the Sabbath. See Eze. 22:8,26; Jer. 25:8-11; 17:24, 27; 2 Chron. 36:15-21. The seventy years' desolation made up for the 420 years of Sabbath desecration. So during the millennium, or the one thousand years after Christ's second advent, the whole earth will lie desolate, or keep sabbath, for one thousand years, because that for six thousand years the world's inhabitants have disregarded the Sabbath. See this period and condition pointed out in Rev. 20:1-4; Isa. 24:1-6; Jer. 4:23-27. The periods of rest and desolation of the land are divinely appointed sabbatical compensations for man's irreligion, as manifested in Sabbath desecration. They are impressive lessons on the importance of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath, and the results of breaking and disregarding it.
9. After Israel's restoration from the Babylonian captivity, what did Nehemiah say was the reason for their punishment?
"Then I contended with the nobles of Judah, and said unto them, What evil thing is this that ye do, and profane the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers thus, and did not our God bring all this evil upon us, and upon this city? yet ye bring more wrath upon Israel by profaning the Sabbath." Neh. 13:17,18.
10. How does he speak of God's giving the Sabbath to Israel?
"Thou camest down also upon mount Sinai, and spakest with them from heaven, and gavest them right judgments, and true laws, good statutes and commandments: and madest known unto them Thy holy Sabbath." Neh. 9:13,14.
NOTE.-Let it be noted that this text does not say that God made the Sabbath then, but simply that He made it known to Israel then. They had largely forgotten it while in Egypt. See readings in Chapters 92. and 93. of this book.
11. How did Christ, while on earth, regard the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16.
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12. By what did Christ recognize the Sabbath law?
"And He said unto them, . . . It is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days." Matt. 12:11,12.
NOTES.-William Prynne says: "It is certain that Christ Himself, His apostles, and the primitive Christians for some good space of time, did constantly observe the seventh-day Sabbath."- "Dissertation on the Lord's Day Sabbath," page 33.
Morer, a learned clergyman of the Church of England, says: "The primitive Christians had a great veneration for the Sabbath, and spent the day in devotion and sermons. And it is not to be doubted that they derived this practice from the apostles themselves, as appears by several scriptures to that purpose."- Morer's "Dialogues on the Lord's Day," page 189.
The historian Neander says: "Opposition to Judaism introduced the particular festival of Sunday very early, indeed, into the place of the Sabbath. . . . The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance, and it was far from the intentions of the apostles to establish a divine command in this respect,- far from them, and from the early apostolic church, to transfer the laws of the Sabbath to Sunday. Perhaps at the end of the second century a false application of this kind had begun to take place; for men appear by that time to have considered laboring on Sunday as a sin."- Neander's "Church History," Rose's translation, page 186.
Dr. Lyman Abbott says: "The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day of the week for the seventh, is absolutely without. any authority in the New Testament."- Christian Union, June 26,1890.
Archdeacon Farrar says: "The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to the other."- "The Voice From Sinai," page 167.
13. What was the first effort of the Roman Church in behalf of the recognition of Sunday?
In 196 A. D., Victor, bishop of Rome, attempted to impose on all the churches the Roman custom of having the Passover, or Easter, as it is commonly called, celebrated every year on Sunday. See Bower's "History of the Popes," Vol. I, pages 18,19.
NOTE.-This, Dr. Bower, in his "History of the Popes," Vol. I, page 18, styles "the first essay of papal usurpation."
14. What was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nice?
"The question relating to the observance of Easter, which was agitated in the time of Anicetus and Polycarp, and afterward in that of Victor, was still undecided. It was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nice, being the most important subject to be considered after the Arian controversy."- Boyle's "Historical View of the Council of Nice," page 23, edition 1836.
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15. How was the matter finally decided?
"Easter day was fixed on the Sunday immediately following the full moon which was nearest after the vernal equinox."- Id., page 24.
16. In urging the observance of this decree on the churches, what reason did Constantine assign for it?
"Let us have nothing in common with the most hostile rabble of the Jews."- Id., page 52.
17. What had Constantine already done, in 321 A.D., to help forward Sunday to a place of prominence?
He issued an edict requiring "the judges and town people, and the occupation of all trades" to rest on "the venerable day of the sun." See Encyclopedia Britannica, article "Sunday;" and this work, page 443.
18. Who did Eusebius, bishop of Caesarea, and one of Constantine's most ardent supporters, say had transferred the obligations of the Sabbath to Sunday?
"All things whatsoever that it was duty to do on the Sabbath, these WE have transferred to the Lord's day."- Eusebius's "Commentary on the Psalms," quoted in Cox's "Sabbath Literature," Vol. I, page 361.
19. What did Sylvester, bishop of Rome, 314 A.D. to 337 A.D., do for the Sunday institution by his "apostolic authority"?
He officially changed the title of the first day, calling it the LORD's DAY. See "Historia Ecclesiastica," by M. Ludovicum Lucium, cent. 4, cap. 10, pages 739,740, edition Basilea, 1624.
20. What did the Council of Laodicea decree in 364 A.D.?
Canon 29. "Christians shall not Judaize and be idle on Saturday [Sabbath], but shall work on that day; but the Lord's day they shall especially honor."- "A History of the Councils of the Church," Charles Joseph Hefele, Vol. II, page 316.
21. How late did Christians keep the Sabbath?
"Down even to the fifth century, the observance of the Jewish Sabbath was continued in the Christian church."- Lyman Coleman's "Ancient Christianity Exemplified," chap. 26, sec. 2.
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22. How generally does the historian Socrates, who wrote about the middle of the fifth century, say the Sabbath was observed by the Christian churches of his time?
"Although almost all churches throughout the world celebrate the sacred mysteries on the Sabbath of every week, yet the Christians of Alexandria and at Rome, on account of some ancient tradition, refuse to do this."- Socrates's "Ecclesiastical History," book 5, chap. 22.
23. What day was observed in the dark ages by some of the Waldenses?
"They kept the Sabbath day, observed the ordinance of baptism according to the primitive church, instructed their children in the articles of the Christian faith and the commandments of God."- Jones's "Church History," Vol. II, chap. 5, sec.4.
24. Who among the early Reformers raised this question of Sabbath observance?
"Carlstadt held to the divine authority of the Sabbath from the Old Testament."- "Life of Luther," by Dr. Barnes Sears, page 402.
25. What did Luther say of Carlstadt's Sabbath views?
"Indeed, if Carlstadt were to write further about the Sabbath, Sunday would have to give way, and the Sabbath- that is to say, Saturday- must be kept holy."- Luther, Against the Celestial Prophets, quoted in "Life of Martin Luther in Pictures," page 147.
26. What claim is now made by the Roman Church concerning the change of the Sabbath to Sunday?
"Question.- Have you any other way of proving that the church has power to institute festivals of precept?
"Answer.- Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modem religionists agree with her,- she could i not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority."- "Doctrinal Catechism," by Rev. Stephen Keenan, page 174.
NOTE.-Through want of sufficient light and investigation, and because of the efforts of some who opposed the Sabbath during the Reformation, Sunday was brought from Catholicism into the Protestant church, and is now cherished as an institution of the Lord. It is clear, however, that it is none of His planting, but rather the work and result of apostasy. But a message is now going forth to revive the truth on this point, and calling for a genuine reformation upon it. See reading in Chapters 56. thru 58. in this book and the next reading.
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Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the bible for santification of Sunday?
They do.
"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." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72,73.
How did Sunday observance originate?
As a voluntary celebration of the Resurrection, a custom without pretense of Divine authority.
Who first enjoined Sunday keeping by law?
Constantine the Great.
"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., art. "Sunday".
By what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden and Sunday observance enjoined?
The Council of Laodicea, in Asia Minor, fourth century.
What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's commandments?
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9
Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50.
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?"Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927),p. 136.
"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. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made.
We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Friday....August 25
Further Thought: Looking back at Ephesians 5:1–20 as a whole, we watch Paul take a strong stance against sin and evil, especially in the form of sexual immorality and crude speech. He is unwilling to accept the presence of corrupt behavior among the people of God. Instead, he calls the believers in Ephesus to a high standard of con- duct and to embrace their identity as the “beloved children” of God and as “saints,” or holy ones (Eph. 5:1–10, ESV). He dares to believe that when the Christians in community do so, they shine a light into the darkness, drawing their neighbors away from self-defeating life- styles and into God’s grace and truth (Eph. 5:11–14).
Paul imagines the church, buoyed by a renewed commitment to “walk as children of light” while they await Christ’s return (Eph. 5:8; see also Eph. 5:15, 16) and blessed by the presence of Christ (Eph. 5:14), gathering to worship. As they are motivated by their status “as beloved children” of God and by Christ’s death for them (Eph. 5:1, 2, ESV) and are filled with the Spirit (Eph. 5:18), their shared worship is characterized by energy and joy as together they sing thanksgiving praise to their Lord, Jesus Christ, and to God the Father. With a firm grip on heavenly realities, they celebrate their hope for the future, rooted in the story of what God has done, is doing, and will accomplish through Jesus Christ their Lord (Eph. 5:18–20).
Understood in this way, the passage becomes far more than a set of disconnected commands about Christian living. It becomes a prophetic call concerning Christian identity, commitment, community, and wor- ship in the last days, a pathos-filled invitation to “snap up the bargains” on offer in the days until Christ’s return (Eph. 5:16).
Discussion Questions:
Ê Confronted today with a viral culture that preaches its values 24/7/365 through a withering array of media, how can believers adopt Paul’s high standards?
Ë What strategies might believers today employ to “discern what is pleasing to the Lord” (Eph. 5:10, ESV) and to “understand what the will of the Lord is” (Eph. 5:17, ESV)?
Ì Someone might argue that Paul’s ban against speaking of sexual immorality among believers (Eph. 5:3, 4) means that we should not deal with issues of sexual misbehavior and abuse. Why is that an inappropriate conclusion?
Í In what ways does our contemporary society reflect similar pagan practices to those that Paul dealt with in his time?
78
Inside Story Diapers on Grocery List
By aMy Mchenry
One Friday morning, I was doing the weekly shopping at our local gro- cery store in Beirut, Lebanon. My husband, Peter, was buying apples and granola bars for the Pathfinders’ weekend hike, and I was getting the family food. We serve as missionaries teaching biology at Middle East University.
As I went upstairs to get some disinfectant and dish soap, I glanced down the diaper aisle and saw someone looking at diapers. I thought to myself how hard it must be for people who need diapers in Lebanon. The financial situation is extremely difficult, with the Lebanese currency having lost more than 90 percent of its value in two years and the cost of goods skyrocketing. More than 80 percent of the country lives below the poverty line.
Suddenly a command popped into my head, “Buy a package of diapers.”
I was surprised at this sudden thought. “Lord, is that You?” I asked. “Why would I buy diapers? The youngest of my three children is 10 years old!”
“Buy a package of diapers.”
I started to walk toward the escalator.
“Lord, I don’t even know anyone with a baby who needs diapers.”
The command became more insistent, “Buy a package of diapers.”
I walked back to the diaper aisle and prayed, “OK, Lord, I’ll buy some
diapers, and You’ll just have to show me later who they are for. What size should I get?” I grabbed a package of size 3 diapers and continued shopping. When my husband and I met at the car, I told him, “Don’t be surprised if you see a package of diapers in the trunk. The Lord told me to purchase them.
They’re a gift, but I don’t know who they’re for yet.” We drove home. The next day at church, I saw a friend whose wife works with refugee families in Beirut. We chatted for a while, and I asked him, “Do you think your wife might know someone who needs diapers? The Lord told me to get some yesterday, and I don’t know who they are for.” He promised to ask her. That evening I received a text from him. “When I told my wife your story about the diapers, she started to cry,” he wrote. “Tomorrow she will be visiting two families who need diapers. Can we pick them up
tonight?”
A short while later, as we hugged and chatted at the door, I handed her the diapers that God had put on my grocery list. I learned that she works with more than twenty families who need diapers and can’t afford them. Now I know to put diapers on my grocery list more often.
Thank you for your mission offerings that help spread the gospel in the Middle East and around the world.
Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org. Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the holy sabbath day.....the Lords' Day!
Genesis 4:7 (KJV)
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Isaiah 56:1-2 (KJV) 1 Thus saith the LORD,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
for my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it;
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV) 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction
(Jeremiah 17:21-23 KJV)
The Bible holy day is the Seventh Day.
Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Isaiah 58:
13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 96.
The Sabbath in the New Testament
1. ACCORDING to the New Testament, what day immediately precedes the first day of the week?
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week." Matt. 28:1.
NOTE.-According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had passed when the first day of the week began.
2. After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed Jesus?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
3. What day is the Sabbath, "according to the commandment"?
"But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10.
4. What was Christ's custom respecting the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16.
5. In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence of the Sabbath long after His ascension?
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.
NOTE.-The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus occurred in the spring and summer of 70 A.D. The flight of the Christians took place three and one-half years earlier, or late in October, 66 A. D., following the arrival and sudden withdrawal of Cestius and his army. See readings in Chapter 68. of this book.
6. On what day did the Jews meet for worship?
"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Acts 15:21.
7. On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
"They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." Acts 13:14.
8. When did the Gentiles request that Paul should repeat the sermon he had preached at Antioch on the Sabbath?
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath." Verse 42.
9. On what day did Paul and his companions preach to the devout women at Philippi?
"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." Acts 16:13.
10. What was Paul's manner respecting the Sabbath?
"They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 17:1,2.
NOTE.-It was Paul's manner, as it was Christ's custom (Luke 4:16), to attend religious services on the Sabbath.
11. How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at Corinth?
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; . . . and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent-makers." Acts 18:1-3. See Eze. 46:1.
12. What did he do on the Sabbath days?
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4.
13. How long did he continue this work there?
"And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." Verse 11.
NOTE.-Here, then, were seventy-eight Sabbaths on which Paul preached in one city. The record further says that he worked at his trade, and we may justly infer that Paul worked at tent-making just as many Sundays as he preached Sabbaths. If to these seventy-eight Sabbaths we add the three he spent at Thessalonica, the one at Philippi, and the two at Antioch, we have a record of eighty-four Sabbaths on which the apostle held religious services, while, so far as the record shows, he held only one meeting on the first day of the week, and that a night meeting, immediately following the Sabbath. See Acts 20. Evidently Sunday was not the Sabbath in Paul's day.
14. On what day was John in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
15. Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
"The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28.
16. What, through the prophet Isaiah, does the Lord call the Sabbath?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
17. Why does the Lord call the Sabbath His day?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex.20:11.
18. Through whom did God create the world?
"God. . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, . . . by whom also He made the worlds." Heb. 1:1,2.
NOTES.-From beginning to end, the Bible recognizes but one weekly Sabbath,- the day upon which God rested in the beginning; which was made known to Israel at Sinai (Neh. 9:13,14); was observed by Christ and His apostles; and is to be kept by the redeemed in the world to come. Isa. 66:22,23.
The terms Sabbath, Sabbaths, and Sabbath days occur sixty times in the New Testament, and in every case but one refer to the seventh day. In Col. 2:16,17, reference is made to the annual sabbaths connected with the three annual feasts observed by Israel before the first advent of Christ.
The first day of the week is mentioned but eight times in the New Testament, six of which are found in the four Gospels, and refer to the day on which Christ arose from the dead. See Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19. The other two (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) refer to the only religious meeting held on the first day of the week after the ascension, in apostolic times, recorded in the New Testament and to a systematic accounting and laying by in store at home on that day for the poor saints in Judea and Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is the same as the Sabbath of the Old Testament, and that there is nothing in the New Testament setting aside the seventh-day Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
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Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975),Chicago, Illinois.
"Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
"2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.
It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says,
Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18,1884.
'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church."
Protestant Confessions
Protestant theologians and preachers from a wide spectrum of denominations have been quite candid in admitting that there is no Biblical authority for observing Sunday as a sabbath.
Anglican/Episcopal
Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism , vol. 1, pp.334, 336.
"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day .... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it."
Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments , pp. 52, 63, 65.
"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday .... into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday."
Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday .
We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church."
Baptist
Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, a paper read before a New York ministers' conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner , Nov.16, 1893.
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week .... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament absolutely not.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . . But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!"
William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day , p. 49.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance."
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Sabbath.....*August 26–September 1 Husbands and Wives: Together
at the Cross Sabbath afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 5:21–33; Phil. 2:3, 4; Ezek. 16:1–14; 2 Cor. 11:1–4; Gen. 2:15–25.
Memory Text: “Husbands, love your wives, just as Christ also loved the church and gave Himself for her, that He might sanctify and cleanse her with the washing of water by the word, that He might present her to Himself a glorious church, not having spot or wrinkle or any such thing, but that she should be holy and without blemish” (Ephesians 5:25–27, NKJV).
In Ephesians 5:21–33, Paul builds on the idea of the submission of believers to each other (Eph. 5:21); he then offers counsel to Christian wives (Eph. 5:22–24) and husbands (Eph. 5:25–32); and he concludes with a distillation of the instruction to both (Eph. 5:33).
In this counsel, Bible students today may hear the risen Christ addressing our relationships. We are positioned to do so when we understand Ephesians 5:21–6:9 as Paul’s way of actualizing the great theme of the letter, unity, but now for the Christian household. While he offers a strong critique of the flawed social structures of the old humanity (see Eph. 4:22), he also celebrates the creation of a new humanity (see Eph. 2:15) embedded within the wider humanity with its flawed social structures. From within these structures, believers demonstrate that a new power, the Holy Spirit (Eph. 2:22; Eph. 3:16; Eph. 5:18–21; Eph. 6:17, 18) and a new ethic patterned on Christ (Eph. 4:13, 15, 20–24, 32; Eph. 5:2, 10, 17, 21–33) have been unleashed, which point toward the ultimate fulfillment of God’s plan for His people and the world.
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 2.Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the first workday of the week. The RCC/"Protestant" self made holy day.
Genesis 4:7 (KJV)
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Isaiah 56:1-2 (KJV) 1 Thus saith the LORD,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
for my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it;
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV) 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction
(Jeremiah 17:21-23 KJV)
The Bible holy day is the Seventh Day.
Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Isaiah 58:
13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
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Congregationalist
Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129.
" . . . it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath - . . 'Me Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday .... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."
Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258.
" . . . the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath."
9
Charles Spurgeon
Jesus did not come to change the law, but He came to explain it. (Mt 5:17-20) and that very fact shows that it remains, for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Assuredly there was no abrogation of law.
It was a wonderful exhibition of its’ far reaching sovereignty and of its searching character. Once more, that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in His life He willingly gave Himself to bear its penalty, though He had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “ “Christ hath redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV). But because the law asked only what it ought to ask…namely perfect obedience and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death, as the penalty for sin, death under divine wrath, therefore the Saviour went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. (Charles Spurgeon, Perpetuity of the Law of God. pp 4-7)
Dwight L. Moody: Now man may cavil as much as they like about other parts of the Bible, but I have never met an honest man that found fault with the Ten Commandments. Infidels may mock the Lawgiver and reject Him who has delivered us from the curse of the law, but they can’t help admitting that the commandments are right…they are for all nations and will remain the commandments of God through the centuries…The people must be made to understand that the TC are still binding, and that there is a penalty attached to their violation….Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey them (See Mat 5:17-20) Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting pp 11,15,16
The Character of God and His Law……
God Law
Just…Rom 3:26 Rom 7:2; Eze 18:5
True….John 3:33 Neh 9:13
Pure….1 John 3:3 Ps 19:7,8
Light…1 John 1:5 Prov 6:23
Faithful….1 Cor 1:9 Ps 119:86
Good…Nahum 1:7 Rom 12:7, 16
Spiritual…1 Cor 10:1-4 Ro 7:14
Holy…..Is 6:3; 1 Pet 1:15 Rom 7:12
Truth…John 14:6 Ps 119:142, 151
Life….John 14:6 John 12:50; Mt 19:17
Righteousness…Jer 23:6 Ps 119:172
Perfect Deu 32:4; 2 Sam 22:31 Ps 19:7, James 1:26
Forever… John 8:35, Heb 13:8 Ps 111:8; Luke 16:17
Dr. Carl Bath quotes in his church dogmatics……”Where the Holy Day becomes a day of man, society and humanity wither away and the demons rule”…De Quervain
Todays' Sabbath School lesson........sunday......August 27 Counsel to Christian Wives
Paul begins with a hinge passage (Ephesians 5:21) connecting Ephesians 5:1–20 and Ephesians 5:22–33, in which he advocates for church members to submit to each other (compare Mark 10:42–45; Rom. 12:10; Phil. 2:3, 4). Believers are to do so “out of reverence for Christ” (Eph. 5:21, ESV), the first of several times Paul will identify the relationship with Christ as the most important and defining one for believers.
What does Paul mean by exhorting church members to submit to each other? How are we to understand this idea? Eph. 5:21.
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Paul also invites Christian wives to submit to “your own husbands, as to the Lord” (Eph. 5:22, ESV), clarifying that he is discussing the sub- mission of wives to their respective husbands (see also 1 Pet. 3:1, 5). When Paul says wives are to do so “as to the Lord,” does he mean a wife is to submit to her husband as though he were Christ; or, instead, does He mean that Christ is the truest and highest focus of her submission?
In view of Ephesians 6:7, where slaves are asked to serve “as to the Lord, and not to men” (NKJV), and Colossians 3:18, where wives are asked to submit to their husbands “as is fitting in the Lord” (NKJV), the latter view is to be preferred. Wives are themselves believers who must ultimately honor Christ over their husbands.
In both Colossians and Ephesians, Christ—and only Christ—is identified as the Head of the church, which is His body (Eph. 1:22, Eph. 5:23, Col. 1:18): “Christ is the head of the church; and He is the Savior of the body” (Eph. 5:23, NKJV). By analogy, the husband is “the head of the wife” (Eph. 5:23), with the church’s faithfulness to Christ serving as a model for the wife’s loyalty to her husband. The passage presumes a loving, caring marriage, and not a dysfunctional one. This verse should not be interpreted to allow any form of domestic abuse.
In light of what we have just read, why is this following counsel so important to remember? If the husband “is a coarse, rough, boisterous, egotistical, harsh, and overbearing man, let him never utter the word that the husband is the head of the wife, and that she must submit to him in everything; for he is not the Lord, he is not the husband in the true significance of the term.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 117.
Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the second workday of the week.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 102.
Sabbath Reform
1. WHAT kind of worship does Christ say results from doctrines based on the commandments of men?
"But in vain they do worship Me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9.
2. What commandment did Christ say the Pharisees had made void by their teaching?
"For God commanded, saying, Honor thy father and mother. . . . But ye say, Whosoever shall say to his father or his mother, It is a gift, by whatsoever thou mightest be profited by me; and honor not his father or his mother, he shall be free." Verses 4-6.
3. What was the result of their course?
"Thus have ye made the commandment of God of none effect by your tradition." Verse 6.
NOTE.-By a gift or dedication of property to the temple service, they taught that a man might be freed from the duties enjoined by the fifth commandment.
4. What question did the disciples soon afterward ask Christ?
"Knowest Thou that the Pharisees were offended, after they heard this saying?" Verse 12.
5. What answer did the Saviour make?
"But He answered and said, Every plant, which My Heavenly Father hath not planted, shall be rooted up." Verse 13.
NOTE.-What is true of the fifth commandment is true of every other commandment. If through tradition men set aside any other of God's commandments, the words of Christ to the Pharisees are equally applicable to them. They are guilty of making void the commandment of God, and of instituting vain worship.
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6. When, and by whom, was the Sabbath "planted "?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:11.
7. Who claims to have planted the Sunday institution?
"Question.- Has the [Catholic] church power to make any alterations in the commandments of God?
"Answer.- . . . Instead of the seventh day, and other
festivals appointed by the old law, the church has prescribed the Sundays and holy days to be set apart for God's worship; and these we are now obliged to keep in consequence of God's commandment, instead of the ancient Sabbath."- "Catholic Christian Instructed," by the Rt. Rev. Dr. Challoner, page 211.
NOTE.-"We Catholics, then, have precisely the same authority for "keeping Sunday holy, instead of Saturday, as we have for every other article of our creed; namely, the authority of 'the church of the living God, the pillar and ground of the truth' (I Tim. 3:15); whereas, you who are Protestants have really no authority for it whatever; for there is no authority for it in the Bible, and you will not allow that there can be authority for it anywhere else. Both you and we do, in fact, follow tradition in this matter; but we follow it, believing it to be a part of God's word, and the church to be its divinely appointed guardian and interpreter; you follow it, denouncing it all the time as a fallible and treacherous guide, which often 'makes the commandment of God of none effect.'"- "Clifton Tracts," Vol. IV, article "A Question for All Bible Christians," page 15.
8. When is final salvation to be brought to God's people?
"Who are kept by the power of God through faith unto salvation ready to be revealed in the last time." 1 Peter 1:5.
9. When God's salvation is near to come, upon whom does He pronounce a blessing?
"Thus saith the Lord, Keep ye judgment, and do justice: for My salvation is near to come, and My righteousness to be revealed. Blessed is the man that doeth this, and the son of man that layeth hold on it; that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and keepeth his hand from doing any evil." Isa. 56:1,2.
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10. Is this promised blessing confined to anyone class?
"Also the sons of the STRANGER that join themselves to the Lord, to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, every one that keepeth the Sabbath from polluting it, and taketh hold of My covenant; even them will I bring to My holy mountain, and make them joyful in My house of prayer." Verses 6, 7.
NOTE.-It is evident from these scriptures that in the last day, when men are waiting for the Saviour to appear, there will be a call for those who really love the Lord to separate themselves from the world, to observe the Lord's true Sabbath, and to depart from all evil.
11. What does God tell His ministers to do at this time?
"Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show My people their transgression, and the house of Jacob their sins." Isa. 58:1.
12. What message of Sabbath reform does He send?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day; and call the Sabbath a delight, the holy of the Lord, honorable; and shalt honor Him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it." Verses 13,14.
NOTE.-The Sabbath of Jehovah is not now, by the majority even of professed Christians, called holy and honorable. By many it is stigmatized as "Jewish." The Lord foresaw how this would be in this age, and inspired the prophet to write as he did. "If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath." This is a strong expression, indicating that many would be trampling upon God's day, and doing their own pleasure upon it, instead of seeking God, and honoring Him by keeping the Sabbath holy.
13. What will those be called who engage in this reformation?
"And thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, The restorer of paths to dwell in." Verse 12.
14. What does another prophet say professed teachers among God's people have done?
"Her priests have violated My law, and have profaned Mine holy things: they have put no difference between the holy and profane; neither have they shown difference between the unclean and the clean, and have hid their eyes from My Sabbaths, and I am profaned among them." Eze. 22:26.
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15. What have they done to maintain their theories?
"And her prophets have daubed them with untempered mortar, seeing vanity, and divining lies unto them, saying, Thus saith the Lord God, when the Lord hath not spoken." Verse 28.
NOTES.-Untempered mortar is that which is improperly worked, and will not therefore hold together or stand the test. Thus it is with the reasons advanced for keeping Sunday instead of the Bible Sabbath, the seventh day. They are not only unsound and untenable in themselves, but are utterly inconsistent, contradictory, and destructive one of the other, among themselves. They are like the witnesses employed by the Jewish leaders to condemn Christ. Of these the record says: "The chief priests and all the council sought for witness against Jesus to put Him to death; and found none. For many bare false witness against Him, but their witness agreed not together." Mark 14:55,56. The lack of agreement among them was evidence in itself of the falsity of their testimony. In nothing, perhaps, is a lack of agreement better illustrated than in the reasons assigned for Sunday-keeping. Note the following:-
One says the Sabbath has been changed from the seventh to the first day of the week.
Another says that the Sabbath commandment requires only one day of rest after six of labor, and hence there has been no change.
Some reason that all ought to keep Sunday, because although, as they affirm, God did not appoint a particular day, yet agreement is necessary; and to have any or every day a sabbath would be equal to no sabbath at all.
Others, to avoid the claims of God's law, assert that the Sabbath precept is one of those ordinances which was against us, contrary to us blotted out, and nailed to the cross. Still, they admit that a day of rest and convocation is necessary, and therefore the day of Christ's resurrection, they say, has been chosen.
Another class say they believe it is impossible to know which is the seventh day, although they have no difficulty in ascertaining which is the first.
Some are so bold even as to declare that Sunday is the original seventh day.
Others, with equal certainty say that those who keep the seventh day are endeavoring to be justified by the law, and are fallen from grace.
Another class, with more liberal views, say they believe that every one should be fully persuaded in his own mind, whether he keep this day, or that, or none at all.
Still again, as if having found the great desideratum or missing link in the argument, men credited with even more than ordinary intelligence, will sometimes declare that it is impossible to keep the seventh day on a round and rolling earth; and yet, strange to say, they find no difficulty in keeping Sunday anywhere, and believe that this day should be observed the world over!
Lastly, and more terrible and presumptuous than all the rest, some, like Herod of old in slaying all the children of Bethlehem in order to make sure of killing Christ, have gone so far as to teach that all ten commandments have been abolished, in order to avoid the duty enjoined in the fourth. But as in the case of Herod, God's Anointed escaped the murderous blow of this wicked king, so in the judgment such will have to meet God over His broken law, and will find that the Sabbath precept stands there unchanged with the rest.
Said Christ, "Whosoever therefore shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men so, he shall be called the least in the kingdom of heaven: but whosoever shall do and teach them, the same shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven" Matt. 5:19.
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16. What does the Lord say will become of this wall thus daubed with untempered mortar?
"Say unto them which daub it with untempered mortar, that it shall fall: there shall be an overflowing shower; and ye, O great hailstones, shall fall; and a stormy wind shall rend it." Eze. 13:11.
17. When are these hailstones to fall?
"Hast thou entered into the treasures of the snow? or hast thou seen the treasures of the hail, which I have reserved against the time of trouble, against the day of battle and war?" Job 28:22,23.
18. Under which of the seven last plagues will this hail fall?
"And the seventh angel poured out his vial into the air; . . . and the cities of the nations fell: . . . and every island fled away, and the mountains were not found. And there fell upon men a great hail out of heaven, every stone about the weight of a talent." Rev. 16:17-21.
19. In order to prepare His people for that terrible time, what does God expect His ministers to do?
"Ye have not gone up into the gaps, neither made up the hedge for the house of Israel to stand in the battle in the day of the Lord." Eze. 13:5.
20. Instead of trying to close up this breach made in God's law [the loss of the Sabbath], and so make up the hedge, what have they done?
"They have seen vanity and lying divination, saying, The Lord saith: and the Lord hath not sent them: and they have made others to hope that they would confirm the word." Verse 6.
21. During these closing scenes, what message is God sending to the world to turn men from false worship to the worship of the true and living God?
"Fear God, and give glory to Him; for the hour of His judgment is come: and worship Him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters. . . . Babylon is fallen, is fallen, that great city, because she made all nations drink of the wine of the wrath of her fornication. . . . If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand, the same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of His indignation." Rev. 14:7-10.
NOTE.-This is the last gospel message to be sent to the world before the Lord comes. Under it will be developed two classes of people, one having the mark of the beast (the Papacy) , and the other keeping the commandments of God, and having His seal, the Sabbath of the fourth commandment.
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22. What, besides attending and taking part in religious services (Luke 4:16), did Christ do on the Sabbath day?
"Who went about doing good." Acts 10:38. See Matt. 8:14-17; 12:1-15; Mark 2:23-28; 3:1-6; Luke 6:1-11; 13:11-17; 14:1-6; John 5:1-18; 9:1-41.
NOTE.-When we come to study the life of Christ, we find that He did not make the Sabbath a day of idleness, nor even a day confined wholly to public and private worship, but one of active service in blessing others. On this day especially He went about doing good, ministering to the sick, and bringing relief to those long bound by Satan. Luke 13:15,16; John 5:5,6. And as He is our pattern in all things, we, too, like Him, should seek to make the Sabbath a day for helping and blessing others. To loose the bands of wickedness, undo the heavy burdens, deal bread to the hungry, clothe the naked, and let the oppressed go free, is the fast which God has chosen, and the Sabbath-keeping most acceptable to Him. Isa. 58:1-12. In this kind of work and ministry there is room for a world-wide Sabbath reform.
BROTHER! up to the breach
For God's freedom and truth;
Let us act as we teach,
With the wisdom of age,
and the vigor of youth.
Heed not their cannon-balls;
Ask not who stands or falls;
Grasp the sword of the Lord,
And-Forward!
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
Medieval Scholastic philosophers and theologians, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure, held that all the commandments are a part of the natural law and are therefore knowable to all thinking people. They maintained that God revealed the commandments to Moses to remind humankind of its obligations, easily forgotten because of original sin.
Actually, these scholars were echoing a similar idea expressed by early Fathers of the Church, such as Tertullian and Augustine, that the commandments had already been engraved on the human heart before they were written on the tablets of stone.
Parallels to the Decalogue are found in the laws of other ancient peoples. In Egyptian religion, for example, the observance of certain precepts (prohibitions against theft, murder, and injustice) was necessary for entrance into the shrine of Osiris, god and judge of the dead. Biblical scholars feel, however, that the Ten Commandments differ from the moral codes of other ancient religious systems in their explicit monotheism, their doctrine of God's awesome majesty and boundless goodness, and their extension of moral obligation to the most intimate and hidden desires of the human heart.
In the New Testament, all the commandments are mentioned but never in a list of ten.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
A Doctrinal Catechism by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, p. 174
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act,… (A quotation from a letter written in November, 1895, by Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Carkinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath.)
WHO CHANGED THE
SABBATH SATURDAY TO SUNDAY?
Roman Catholic: No such law in the Bible "Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the Seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, all Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church outside the Bible." Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947
"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 sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays?
By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church." Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p.58 (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris [1916 ed.], p.67)
"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.
" The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10 Commandments?"
"I answer yes".
"Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?"
"I answer yes".
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
[color=green]Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Tuesday....August 29
The Church as the Bride of Christ: Part 2
How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur? (2 Cor. 11:1–4).
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Using one final element of the ancient wedding, in Ephesians 5:25–27 Paul portrays Christ as the One who:  presents the bride (to Himself!). In ancient times the bride would be given away by the best man, best men, or her father. Never by her groom! Here, though, Paul imagines Jesus presenting the church as bride to Himself.
Paul uses marriage customs and roles to highlight Christ’s relation- ship to the church in an unfolding, chronological pattern: (1) Betrothal. Christ offered Himself up for the church (as “bride price”) and so became betrothed to her (Eph. 5:25). (2) Preparation for the wedding ceremony. The attentions of the Bridegroom continue in His present efforts to sanctify and cleanse the bride (Eph. 5:26). (3) The wedding ceremony itself. Christ’s present attentions are in view of the “pre- sentation” of the bride at the wedding (Eph. 5:27). This last element looks to the grand wedding celebration at His return, when Christ, the Bridegroom, will come to claim the church as bride and present her to Himself (Eph. 5:27; compare 2 Cor. 11:1, 2; Col. 1:21–23, 28).
Ancient weddings often began with a nighttime parade (see Matt. 25:1–13). The groom and his entourage would gather at the groom’s home—the couple’s new home—and with grand ceremony begin a procession. Lit by torches and accompanied by joyful, lilting music and great rejoicing, the crowd jostles toward the home of the father of the bride. Gathering up the bride there or meeting the bride’s own pro- cession on the way, the parade would convey the couple to their new home, where the guests would settle into a weeklong feast, culminat- ing in the wedding ceremony, when the bride would be presented to the groom.
When Paul portrays Christ presenting the church to Himself, he alludes to this grand parade and to the moment of presentation. In doing so, he provides a moving portrait of Christ’s return as a future wedding ceremony, when the long betrothal between Christ and His church is complete and the wedding celebrated.
What message should we take for ourselves from all this positive, happy, and hopeful imagery?[/color]Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the third workday of the week.
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 103.
The Author of Liberty
1. HOW is the bondage of Israel in Egypt described?
"And the children of Israel sighed by reason of the bondage, and they cried, and their cry came up unto God by reason of the bondage." Ex. 2:23. Compare with James 5:1-4.
2. Who heard their groaning?
"God heard their groaning, and God remembered His covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob." Verse 24.
3. What did God say to Moses?
"Now therefore, behold, the cry of the children of Israel is come unto Me: and I have also seen the oppression wherewith the Egyptians oppress them. Come now therefore, and I will send thee unto Pharaoh, that thou mayest bring forth My people the children of Israel out of Egypt." Ex. 3:9,10.
4. In giving Israel His law, how did God describe Himself?
"I am the Lord thy God, which have brought thee out of
the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage." Ex. 20:2.
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5. What provision did God make against slavery and oppression in Israel?
"And if thy brother, an Hebrew man, or an Hebrew woman, be sold unto thee, and serve thee six years; then in the seventh year thou shalt let him go free from thee. And when thou sendest him out free from thee, thou shalt not let him go away empty: thou shalt furnish him liberally out of thy flock, and out of thy floor, and out of thy wine-press: of that wherewith the Lord thy God hath blessed thee thou shalt give unto him. And thou shalt remember that thou wast a bondman in the land of Egypt, and the Lord thy God redeemed thee: therefore I command thee this thing today." Deut. 15:12-15. "Thou shalt neither vex a stranger, nor oppress him: for ye were strangers in the land of Egypt." Ex. 22:21. See 2 Cor. 1:3,4.
6. What was one reason assigned why Israel should keep the Sabbath?
"And remember that thou wast a servant in the land of Egypt, and that the Lord thy God brought thee out thence through a mighty hand and by a stretched-out arm: therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the Sabbath day." Deut. 5:15.
NOTE.-This would suggest the idea that in their servitude and oppression in Egypt they had had difficulty regarding the observance of the Sabbath, which is a fact. From the accusation brought against Moses and Aaron by Pharaoh, as recorded in Ex. 5:5,- "Ye make them rest [Heb., Shabbath] from their burdens,"- it is plain that the Sabbath had been denied them, that they had been required to work on the Sabbath, and that Moses and Aaron were teaching them to keep it. Where individual rights and religious liberty are recognized, Sabbath observance is neither denied nor required by civil law.
7. What proclamation was to be made throughout the land of Israel every fifty years?
"And ye shall hallow the fiftieth year, and proclaim liberty throughout all the land unto all the inhabitants thereof: it shall be a jubilee unto you; and ye shall return every man unto his possession, and ye shall return every man unto his family." Lev. 25:10.
8. Because Israel failed to do this, became oppressive, and disregarded and misused the Sabbath, what did God do?
"Therefore thus saith the Lord; Ye have not harkened unto Me, in proclaiming liberty, every one to his brother, and every man to his neighbor: behold, I proclaim a liberty for you, saith the Lord, to the sword, to the pestilence, and to the famine; and I will make you to be removed into all the kingdoms of the earth." Jer. 34:17. See also Jer. 17:24-27; 2 Chron. 36:19-21.
9. What fault did God find with the way in which Israel came to celebrate her fasts and seasons of worship?
"Behold, in the day of your fast ye find pleasure, and exact all your labors. Behold, ye fast for strife and debate, and to smite with the fist of wickedness." Isa. 58:3,4.
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10. What does God set forth as the acceptable fast to Him?
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke? Is it not to deal thy bread to the hungry, and that thou bring the poor that are cast out to thy house? when thou seest the naked, that thou cover him; and that thou hide not thyself from thine own flesh?" Verses 6, 7.
NOTE.-All this shows that God loves liberty, and hates bondage and oppression.
11. What was Christ's mission to this world?
"The Spirit of the Lord is upon Me, because He hath anointed Me to preach the gospel to the poor; He hath sent Me to heal the broken-hearted, to preach deliverance to the captives, and recovering of sight to the blind, to set at liberty them that are bruised." Luke 4:18.
NOTE.-The Gospels show that a large part of Christ's time even on the Sabbath was devoted to relieving the oppressed and distressed.
12. In what condition are those who commit sin? "Whosoever committeth sin is the servant of sin." John
8:34.
13. Why was Christ's name to be called Jesus?
"And thou shalt call His name Jesus: for He shall save His people from their sins." Matt. 1:21.
14. What lies at the root of all sin?
"When lust hath conceived, it bringeth forth sin." James 1:15. " I had not known lust, except the law had said, Thou shalt not covet." Rom. 7:7.
NOTE.-Lust, covetousness, and unlawful desire are only different names for selfishness. Selfishness lies at the root of all sin; and selfishness is simply the love of self to the disregard of the equal rights of others.
15. By what scripture is the equality of rights clearly shown?
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Lev. 19:18.
16. What rule of conduct has Christ laid down in harmony with this command?
"Whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7:12.
NOTE.-Selfishness, then, must be uprooted from men's hearts before they will recognize the equal rights of their fellow men.
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17. Who alone can cleanse men's hearts from selfishness?
"Neither is there salvation in any other: for there is none other name under heaven given among men, whereby we must be saved." Acts 4:12. See also 1 John 1:9.
18. Who alone, then, can give men real freedom?
"If the Son therefore shall make you free, ye shall be free indeed." John 8:36.
19. What was Christ's attitude toward unbelievers?
"If any man hear My words, and believe not, I judge him
not: for I came not to judge the world, but to save the world." John 12:47.
20. What spirit did Christ say should control His disciples?
"But Jesus called them to Him, and saith unto them, Ye
know that they which are accounted to rule over the Gentiles exercise lordship over them; and their great ones exercise authority upon them. But so shall it not be among you: but whosoever will be great among you, shall be your minister: and whosoever of you will be the chiefest, shall be servant of all. For even the Son of man came not to be ministered unto, but to minister, and to give His life a ransom for many." Mark 10:42-45.
21. What is present where the Spirit of the Lord is?
"Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." 2 Cor. 3:17.
22. What kind of worship only is acceptable to God?
"But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship Him. God is a Spirit: and they that worship Him must worship Him in spirit and in truth." John 4:23,24.
FREEDOM and reason make brave men;
Take these away, what are they then?-
Mere groveling brutes, and just as well
The beasts may think of heaven or hell.
Know, then, that every soul is free
To choose his life, and what he'll be;
For this eternal truth is given:
That God will force no man to heaven.
He'll call, persuade direct him right,
Bless him with wisdom, love, and light,
In nameless ways be good and kind,
But never force the human mind.
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the NEW LAW, that he himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath.
But this theory is entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as holy days. The church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days."
John Laux A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies 1936, vol.1 p.51
What day is the Sabbath day?
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday."
Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.), p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on his labors, January 25, 1910.
"The Catholic 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
"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church." Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today (1868), p. 213
Exodus 20: 8-11,
(8) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: (10) But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the Seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Colossians 2:8 warns us to:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
What power has claimed authority to change God's law?
The Papacy in Rome.
"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even Divine Laws...The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth." Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (Ready Library), "Papa", art. 2.
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Tuesday.....August 29
The Church as the Bride of Christ: Part 2
How does Paul use elements of the ancient wedding in appealing to Christians in Corinth? When does the presentation occur? (2 Cor. 11:1–4).
________________________________________________________
________________________________________________________
Using one final element of the ancient wedding, in Ephesians 5:25–27 Paul portrays Christ as the One who: presents the bride (to Himself!). In ancient times the bride would be given away by the best man, best men, or her father. Never by her groom! Here, though, Paul imagines Jesus presenting the church as bride to Himself.
Paul uses marriage customs and roles to highlight Christ’s relation- ship to the church in an unfolding, chronological pattern: (1) Betrothal. Christ offered Himself up for the church (as “bride price”) and so became betrothed to her (Eph. 5:25). (2) Preparation for the wedding ceremony. The attentions of the Bridegroom continue in His present efforts to sanctify and cleanse the bride (Eph. 5:26). (3) The wedding ceremony itself. Christ’s present attentions are in view of the “pre- sentation” of the bride at the wedding (Eph. 5:27). This last element looks to the grand wedding celebration at His return, when Christ, the Bridegroom, will come to claim the church as bride and present her to Himself (Eph. 5:27; compare 2 Cor. 11:1, 2; Col. 1:21–23, 28).
Ancient weddings often began with a nighttime parade (see Matt. 25:1–13). The groom and his entourage would gather at the groom’s home—the couple’s new home—and with grand ceremony begin a procession. Lit by torches and accompanied by joyful, lilting music and great rejoicing, the crowd jostles toward the home of the father of the bride. Gathering up the bride there or meeting the bride’s own pro- cession on the way, the parade would convey the couple to their new home, where the guests would settle into a weeklong feast, culminat- ing in the wedding ceremony, when the bride would be presented to the groom.
When Paul portrays Christ presenting the church to Himself, he alludes to this grand parade and to the moment of presentation. In doing so, he provides a moving portrait of Christ’s return as a future wedding ceremony, when the long betrothal between Christ and His church is complete and the wedding celebrated.
What message should we take for ourselves from all this positive, happy, and hopeful imagery?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fourth workday of the week.....mittwoch.....
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 104.
The Powers that be
1. WHO should be subject to civil government?
"Let every soul be subject unto the higher powers. For
there is no power but of God." Rom. 13:1.
2. By whom are the powers that be ordained?
"The powers that be are ordained of God." Same verse.
3. What does one resist, who resists civil authority?
"Whosoever therefore resisteth the power, resisteth the ordinance of God: and they that resist shall receive to themselves damnation." Verse 2.
NOTE.-"That is, they who rise up against government itself, who seek anarchy and confusion, who oppose the regular execution of the laws. It is implied, however, that those laws shall not be such as violate the rights of conscience or oppose the law of God."- Dr. Albert Barnes, on Rom. 13:2.
4. What do the Scriptures indicate as the proper sphere and legitimate work of civil authority?
"For rulers are not a terror to good works, but to the evil. . . . If thou do that which is evil, be afraid; for he beareth not the sword in vain: for he is the minister of God, a revenger to execute wrath upon him that doeth evil." Verses 3, 4.
5. For whom is law made?
"Knowing this, that the law is not made for a righteous man, but for the lawless and disobedient." 1 Tim. 1:9.
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6. How are Christians admonished to respect civil authority?
"Put them in mind to be subject to principalities and
powers, to obey magistrates, to be ready to every good work." Titus 3:1. " Submit yourselves to every ordinance of man for the Lord's sake: whether it be to the king, as supreme; or unto governors, as unto them that are sent by him for the punishment of evil-doers, and for the praise of them that do well. . . . Honor all men. Love the brotherhood. Fear God. Honor the king." 1 Peter 2:13-17. "For for this cause pay ye tribute also: for they are God's ministers, attending continually upon this very thing. Render therefore to all their dues: tribute to whom tribute is due; custom to whom custom; fear to whom fear; honor to whom honor." Rom. 13:6,7.
7. In what words does Christ show that there is another realm outside of Caesar's, or civil government?
"Render therefore unto Caesar the things which are Caesar's; and unto God the things that are God's." Matt. 22:21.
8. To whom alone did He say worship is to be rendered?
"Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:10.
9. What decree did King Nebuchadnezzar once make respecting worship?
"To you it is commanded, O people, nations, and languages, that at what time ye hear the sound of the cornet, flute, harp, sackbut, psaltery, dulcimer, and all kinds of music, ye fall down and worship the golden image that Nebuchadnezzar the king hath set up. And whoso falleth not down and worshipeth shall the same hour be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."' Dan. 3:4-6.
NOTE.-This decree was in direct conflict with the second commandment of God's law, which forbids making, bowing down to, and serving images. It was religious, idolatrous, and persecuting in character.
10. What answer did the three Hebrew captives, Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, return when asked by the king why they had not fallen down and worshiped the golden image, as he had commanded?
"Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, answered and said to the king, O Nebuchadnezzar , we are not careful to answer thee in this matter. If it be so, our God whom we serve is able to deliver us from the burning fiery furnace, and He will deliver us out of thine hand, O king. But if not, be it known unto thee, O king, that we will not serve thy gods, nor worship the golden image which thou hast set up." Verses 16-18.
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11. What did Nebuchadnezzar then do?
"Then was Nebuchadnezzar full of fury, and the form of his visage was changed against Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego: . . . and he commanded the most mighty men that were in his army; to bind Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, and to cast them into the burning fiery furnace." Verses 19, 20.
12. After their miraculous deliverance, what did Nebuchadnezzar say?
"Then Nebuchadnezzar spake, and said, Blessed be the God of Shadrach, Meshach, and Abed-nego, who hath sent His angel, and delivered His servants that trusted in Him, and have changed the king's word, and yielded their bodies, that they might not serve nor worship any god, except their own God." Verse 28.
NOTE.-By preserving these men in the fire, and thus changing the king's word, God was demonstrating before all the world, through this greatest of then-existing earthly kingdoms, that with the question of religion civil governments can of right have nothing whatsoever to do; that religion is a realm outside the legitimate sphere of civil authority; and that every individual should be left free to worship, or not to worship, according: to the dictates of his own conscience. The lesson to be learned from this is that, although ordained of God, civil governments are not ordained to direct or oppress men in religious matters.
13. How only did the envious princes and rulers under King Darius conclude that they could effect the downfall of Daniel?
"Then said these men, We shall not find any occasion against this Daniel, except we find it against him concerning the law of God." Dan. 6:5.
14. To this end, what decree did they prevail upon the king to make and sign?
"That whosoever shall ask a petition of any God or man for thirty days, save of thee, O king, he shall be cast into the den of lions." Verse 7.
NOTE.-Unlike the decree of Nebuchadnezzar, this decree forbade the worship of the true God, and was therefore in direct conflict with the first commandment, which forbids the worship of any other than the true God. Like it, however, it was religious and persecuting in character.
15. How did Daniel regard this decree?
"Now when Daniel knew that the writing was signed, he went into his house; and his windows being open in his chamber toward Jerusalem, he kneeled upon his knees three times a day, and prayed, and gave thanks before his God, as he did aforetime." Verse 10.
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16. What was finally done with Daniel?
"Then the king commanded, and they brought Daniel, and cast him into the den of lions." Verse 16.
17. What did Darius say to Daniel the next morning when he came to the lions' den?
"The king spake and said to Daniel, O Daniel, servant of the living God, is thy God, whom thou servest continually, able to deliver thee from the lions?" Verse 20.
18. What was Daniel's reply?
"Then said Daniel unto the king, O king, live forever. My God hath sent His angel, and hath shut the lions' mouths, that they have not hurt me: forasmuch as before Him innocency was found in me; and also before thee, O king, have I done no hurt." Verses 21, 22.
NOTE.-Here again was demonstrated by a most remarkable miracle, wrought in the face of the greatest nation then in existence, that with the directing, prescribing, proscribing, or interfering with religion or its free exercise, civil governments can of right have nothing whatever to do; that religion is an individual matter, and should be left to the dictates of each one s own conscience.
19. Before leaving His disciples, what command did Christ give them?
"Go ye into all the world, and preach the gospel to every creature." Mark 16:15.
20. What counter-command did the Jewish Sanhedrin soon afterward give them?
"And they called them, and commanded them not to speak at all nor teach in the name of Jesus." Acts 4:18.
21. What reply did Peter and John make?
"But Peter and John answered and said unto them, Whether it be right in the sight of God to harken unto you more than unto God, judge ye. For we cannot but speak the things which we have seen and heard." Verses 19, 20.
22. For continuing to preach Jesus, what did the Jewish rulers do to the apostles?
"Then the high priest rose up, and all they that were with him, (which is the sect of the Sadducees,) and were filled with indignation, and laid their hands on the apostles, and put them in the common prison." Acts 5:17,18.
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23. What did an angel of God then do?
"But the angel of the Lord by night opened the prison doors, and brought them forth, and said, Go, stand and speak in the temple to the people all the words of this life." Verses 19, 20.
NOTE.-Here once again is demonstrated the fact that men have no right to interfere with the free exercise of religion, and that when the laws of men conflict with the law and Word of God, we are to obey the latter, whatever the consequences may be. God Himself has set the seal of His approval to such a course. John Bunyan was imprisoned for twelve years for daring to preach the gospel contrary to law.
24. Upon the apostles being called before the council again, what question did the high priest ask them?
"Did not we straitly command you that ye should not teach in this name? and, behold, ye have filled Jerusalem with your doctrine, and intend to bring this man's blood upon us." Verse 28.
25. What reply did the apostles make?
"Then Peter and the other apostles answered and said, We ought to obey God rather than men." Verse 29.
NOTE.-"Obedience is to be rendered to all human governments in subordination to the will of God. These governments are a recognized necessity, in the nature of the case, and their existence is manifestly in accordance with the divine will. Hence the presumption is always in favor of the authority of civil law, and any refusal to obey must be based on the moral proof that obedience will be sin. . . . It is still true that obedience to human law often involves sin against God and man. There are cases so clear that no one can question the duty to refuse obedience. In all times and in all lands such cases have arisen." "It is too obvious to need discussion, that the law of God, the great principle of benevolence, is supreme, and that 'we ought to obey God rather than men' in any case of conflict between human law and the divine."- "Moral Philosophy," by James H. Fairchild, pages 178-181.
26. Who is higher than the "higher powers"?
"If thou seest the oppression of the poor, and violent perverting of judgment and justice in a province, marvel not at the matter: for He that is higher than the highest regardeth; and there be higher than they." Eccl. 5:8.
NOTE.-In attempting to defend the right of civil government to enforce religious observances by law, some still ask, "Shall we not obey the powers that be?" We answer, "Yes, when they are in harmony with the higher powers that be. God made His law for all the universe. He created man;. He gives the bounteous provisions of nature, and holds our breath and life In His hand. He is to be recognized, His law honored, before all the great men and the highest earthly powers."
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27. Because Mordecai refused to bow down to Haman in accordance with the command of King Ahasuerus (Esther 3:1-6), what decree did Haman succeed in having the king issue and send to every province throughout the Persian Empire?
"And the letters were sent by posts into all the king's provinces, to destroy, to kill, and to cause to perish, all Jews, both young and old, little children and women, in one day, even upon the thirteenth day of the twelfth month, which is the month Adar, and to take the spoil of them for a prey. The copy of the writing for a commandment to be given in every province was published unto all people, that they should be ready against that day." Esther 3:13,14.
NOTES.-By an overruling of Providence the carrying out of this terrible decree was averted, and Haman was hanged on the very gallows which he had erected for the execution of Mordecai. See Esther 7:9,10.
God has placed the sword (civil authority) in the hands of Caesar (civil government) for the punishment of evil-doers; but when the sword is raised to slay the innocent, as in the case of the children of Bethlehem (Matt. 2:16) ; or to enforce idolatrous worship, as in the case of the three Hebrews (Daniel 3); or to prohibit the worship of the true God, as in the case of Daniel (Daniel 6); or to slay all of God's people, as in the time of Esther; or to enforce the observance of a false sabbath, as in the case of all Sunday laws, it is an abuse of civil authority, and not a proper or justifiable use of it; and God honors those who, under such circumstances, in the face of persecution, oppression, and death, remain loyal and true to Him.
"Government is never the gainer in the execution of a law that is manifestly unjust. . . . Conscientious men are not the enemies, but the friends, of any government but a tyranny. They are its strength, and not its weakness. Daniel, in Babylon, praying contrary to the law, was the true friend and supporter of the government; while those who, in their pretended zeal for the law and the constitution, would strike down the good man, were its real enemies. It is only when government transcends its sphere that it comes in conflict with the consciences of men.
"But it is objected that the example is corrupting,- that a bad man will violate a good law, because the good man refuses to obey a wicked law. The cases are just as unlike as right and wrong and any attempt to justify the one by the other is gross dishonesty. Unquestionably, the principle can be abused by the wicked, and so can any truth whatever; but the principle of unquestioning obedience to human law is false, and needs no perversion to make it mischievous. . . .
"It should always be remembered that the great end of government is human well-being, that law and authority are nothing in themselves, and that all their sacredness arises from the uses which they serve. The machinery of government is valuable only for the work it does; in itself, it has no value. . . . The most grievous of all imperfections in government is the failure to secure the just and good result. . . . Injustice and oppression are not made tolerable by being in strict accordance with the law. Nothing is surer, in the end, than the reaction of such wrong to break down the most perfectly constituted government."- "Moral Philosophy," by James H. Fairchild, pages 184-186.
God is above all earthly rulers, and His law above all human laws. He made us, and we therefore owe allegiance to Him before any earthly power, potentate, or tribunal. And this is saying nothing in disparagement of civil authority exercised in its rightful domain- civil things.
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What part of the law of God has the papacy thought to change?
The Fourth Commandment.
"Catholics alledge the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's day, contrary, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue; and they have no example more in their mouth than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue." The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), part 2, art. 7, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Harper), vol. 3, p. 64.
"It [the Roman Catholic Church] reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's word and instituting Sunday as a holiday." N. Summerbell, History of the Christian Church (1873), p. 415.
Does the papacy acknowledge changing the Sabbath?
It does.
The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day. Sunday.'" Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same in slightly different wording, is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402.
Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the bible for santification of Sunday?
They do.
"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." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72,73.
How did Sunday observance originate?
As a voluntary celebration of the Resurrection, a custom without pretense of Divine authority.
Who first enjoined Sunday keeping by law?
Constantine the Great.
"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., art. "Sunday".
By what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden and Sunday observance enjoined?
The Council of Laodicea, in Asia Minor, fourth century.
What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's commandments?
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9
Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50.
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?"Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
Todays' Sabbath school lesson: Wednesday.......August 30
Love Your Wife as You Do Yourself
What new argument does Paul use to encourage husbands to practice tender love toward their wives? Eph. 5:28–30.
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Paul’s rules for the Christian household (Eph. 5:21–6:9) disclose a challenging social context. In Ephesians 5:28–30, Paul addresses husbands who, following the all-too-frequent pattern of the time, may choose to “hate their own flesh” (see Eph. 5:28, 29), abusing and beating their wives. In the Greco-Roman world of Paul’s day, the legal power of the “father of the family” (Latin, pater familias) was very broad. He could punish harshly or even kill his wife, children, and slaves and be within his legal rights (though exercising such power in extreme ways was increasingly constrained by public opinion).
In Ephesians 5:25–27, Paul has detailed the ultimate example of love, Christ’s love for the church, offering a drastically different model for husbands than the usual one. Now, before laying out a new argument, he points again to that great Example, asking Christian husbands to respond “in the same way” (Eph. 5:28, ESV) as Jesus, who “gave himself up” for His bride, the church, and attends to her every need (Eph. 5:25–27, ESV). Paul challenges Christian husbands to turn from the expected practices of their time and seek to match Christ’s tender love.
In Ephesians 5:28–30, Paul adds a new rationale to support the love of Christian husbands for their wives: self-love. Paul offers a truism: “No one ever hated his own flesh” (at least no one thinking clearly). Husbands don’t harm themselves or beat up on their own bodies. Instead, they “nourish and cherish” them (Eph. 5:29, NKJV). In a bid to eliminate harshness and violence against Christian wives, Paul invites the Christian husband to identify with his wife. You are so much one with your wife, Paul argues, that to harm her is nothing short of inflict- ing self-harm, and most people in their right minds don’t do that.
Returning to the example of Jesus, Paul argues that Christ is Himself practicing tender self-care in cherishing believers who are “his body” (Eph. 5:29, 30, ESV). Model your behavior toward your wife, says Paul, on the way you treat yourself and, ultimately, on the way Christ treats you.
Paul cites the example of Jesus to both wives and husbands. What can you learn from Jesus about loving those in your own family circle?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fifth workday of the week. come sundown begins the preparation.
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 105.
Individual Accountability
1. WHAT is religion?
"The recognition of God as an object of worship, love, and obedience."- Webster. Other definitions equally good are: "The duty which we owe to our Creator, and the manner of discharging it." "Man's personal relation of faith and obedience to God."
2. In religious things, whom alone did Christ say we should recognize as Father?
"And call no man your father upon the earth: for one is your Father, which is in heaven." Matt. 23:9.
3. When tempted to fall down and worship Satan, what Scripture command did Christ cite in justification of His refusal to do this?
"Then saith Jesus unto him, Get thee hence, Satan: for it
is written, Thou shalt worship the Lord thy God, and Him only shalt thou serve." Matt. 4:10. See Deut. 6:13; 10:20.
4. To whom alone, then, is each one accountable in religious things?
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to
God." Rom. 14:12.
NOTE.-With this agree the words of Washington : "Every man who conducts himself as a good citizen, is accountable alone to God for his religious faith, and should be protected in worshiping God according to the dictates of his own conscience."- Reply to Virginia Baptits, in 1789.
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5. What do those do, therefore, who make men accountable to them in religious affairs?
They put themselves in the place of God. See 2 Thess. 2;3,4.
6. Why, in religious matters, did Christ say men should not be called masters?
"Neither be ye called masters: for one is your Master, even Christ." Matt. 23:10.
NOTE.-Every one, therefore, who acts as master in Christ's church, or lords it over God's heritage (1 Peter 5:3), puts himself in the place of Christ.
7. To whom, then, as servants, are we responsible in matters of faith and worship?
"Who art thou that judgest another man's servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth." Rom. 14:4.
8. Whose servants are we not to be?
" Ye are bought with a price; be not ye the servants of men." 1 Cor. 7:23.
NOTE.-"Satan's methods ever tend to one end,- to make men the slaves of men," and thus separate them, from God, destroy faith in God, and so expose men to temptation and Sin. Christ's work is to set men free, to renew faith, and to lead to willing and loyal obedience to God. Says Luther: "It is contrary to the will of God that man should be subject to man in that which pertains to eternal life. Subjection in spirituals is a real worship, and should be rendered only to the Creator."- D' Aubigne's "History of the Reformation," edited by M. Laird Simons, book 7, chap. 11.
9. Where must all finally appear to render up their account?
"For we must all appear before the judgment-seat of Christ; that every one may receive the things done in his body, according to that he hath done, whether it be good or bad." 2 Cor. 5:10.
NOTE.-Inasmuch, then, as religion is an individual matter, and each individual must give account of himself to God, it follows that there should be no human constraint nor compulsion in religious affairs.
DARE to be a Daniel,
Dare to stand alone;
Dare to have a purpose firm,
Dare to make it known.
P. P. BLISS.
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Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927),p. 136.
"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. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made.
We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."
Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975),Chicago, Illinois.
"Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
"2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.
It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says,
Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18,1884.
'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church."
Protestant Confessions
Protestant theologians and preachers from a wide spectrum of denominations have been quite candid in admitting that there is no Biblical authority for observing Sunday as a sabbath.
Anglican/Episcopal
Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism , vol. 1, pp.334, 336.
"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day .... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it."
Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments , pp. 52, 63, 65.
"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday .... into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday."
Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday .
We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church."
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Thursday......August 31
The “One Flesh” Model of Marriage
Study the Creation narrative of Genesis 2:15–25.What happens in the story before the statement concerning a husband and wife being “one flesh” (Gen. 2:24)?
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A key to applying Paul’s counsel to wives and husbands is to see his citation of Genesis 2:24 (in Ephesians 5:31) as the culmination of it. As he meditates on the Creation story of Genesis, Paul considers the needs of Christian congregations and the health of family relationships within them. He hears in Genesis 2:24 a message that echoes down through time. By divine design, marriage is intended to be a “one flesh” relationship, with sexual unity mirrored in emotional and spiritual unity, and emotional and spiritual unity bringing meaning to the sexual relationship.
Note that in choosing Genesis 2:24, Paul selects a statement about marriage made before the Fall and applies it to the relationships between Christian husbands and wives. In our distinctly post-Fall world, rampant exploitation of the sexual relationship between a man and a woman reveals how deeply entrenched in modern cultures is the idea that the sexual union represents subjugation of the woman. Paul argues that the sexual relationship, as reflected in Genesis, is not one of subjugation but of union. It does not symbolize or actualize the dominance of the male but the union of husband and wife, so much so that they are “one flesh.” We may look to both Ephesians 5:21–33 and Genesis 2:24, then, for an important, countercultural, and corrective theology of marriage and sexuality.
In this same context, Paul in the next verse talks about a “profound mystery” (see Eph. 5:32, ESV). This includes both sides of the double metaphor Paul has been discussing: Christian marriage understood in the light of Christ’s relationship with His church (Eph. 5:32) and Christ’s relationship with His church understood in the light of Christian marriage (Eph. 5:32).
Christian marriage is elevated by comparing it to the relation- ship between Christ and the church. In addition, by thinking of the church’s relationship to Christ through the lens of a caring, Christian marriage, believers gain new clarity about their shared relationship to Christ.
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In what ways does Ephesians 5:33 serve as a concise summary of Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21–32? If married, how can you seek to more fully implement these principles in your marriage?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the preparation, the sabbath is drawing on.
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 106.
Union of Church and State
1. WHAT was already at work in the church in Paul's day?
"For the mystery of iniquity doth already work." 2 Thess. 2:7.
2. What class of men did he say would arise in the church?
"For I know this, that after my departing shall grievous wolves enter in among you, not sparing the flock. Also of your own selves shall men arise, speaking perverse things, to draw away disciples after them." Acts 20:29,30.
3. Through what experience was the church to pass, and what was to develop in the church, before Christ's second coming?
"Let no man deceive you by any means: for that day shall not come, except there come a falling away first, and that man of sin be revealed, the son of perdition." 2 Thess. 2:3.
4. In what was shown the first tangible evidence of this "falling away" from the truth of God?
The adoption of heathen rites and customs in the church.
NOTE.-"The bishops augmented the number of religious rites in the Christian worship, by way of accommodation to the infirmities and prejudices, both of Jews and heathen, in order to facilitate their conversion to Christianity. . . . For this purpose they gave the name of mysteries to the institutions of the gospel, and decorated particularly the holy sacrament with that solemn title. They used in that sacred institution, as also in that of baptism, several of the terms employed in the heathen mysteries, and proceeded so far, at length, as even to adopt some of the rites and of the ceremonies of which those renowned mysteries consisted." - Mosheim's "Ecclesiastical History" (Maclaine's translation), cent. 2, part 2, chap. 4, pars. 2-5.
Page 485
5. How early was this tendency manifested?
"This imitation began in the eastern provinces; but, after the time of Adrian [emperor 117-138 A.D.], who first introduced the mysteries among the Latins, it was followed by the Christians who dwelt in the western parts of the empire."- Id., par. 5.
6. What has been one great characteristic of the Papacy?
A union of church and state, or the religious power dominating the civil power to further its ends.
7. When was th union of church and state formed from which the Papacy grew?
During the reign of Constantine, 313-337 A.D.
8. What was the character and the work of many of the bishops at that time?
"Worldly-minded bishops, instead of caring for the salvation of their flocks, were often but too much inclined to travel about, and entangle themselves in worldly concerns."- Neander's "History of the Christian Religion and Church" (Torrey's translation), Vol. II, page 16.
9. What did the bishops determine to do?
"This theocratical theory was already the prevailing one in the time of Constantine; and. . . the bishops voluntarily made themselves dependent on him by their disputes, and by their determination to make use of the power of the state for the furtherance of their aims."- Id., page 132.
NOTE.-The "theocratical theory" was that of a government administered by God through the church, particularly through the church bishops.
10. What was the date of Constantine's famous Sunday law?
A. D. 321.
11. When and by whom was the Council of Nice convened?
By the emperor Constantine, 325 A. D.
12. Under what authority were its decrees published?
"The decrees. . . were published under the imperial authority, and thus obtained a political importance."- Id., page 133.
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13. What was one principal object in calling this council?
"The question relating to the observance of Easter, which was agitated in the time of Anicetus and Polycarp, and afterward in that of Victor, was still undecided. It was one of the principal reasons for convoking the Council of Nice, being the most important subject to be considered after the Arian controversy."
"It appears that the churches of Syria and Mesopotamia continued to follow the custom of the Jews, and celebrated Easter on the fourteenth day of the moon, whether falling on Sunday or not. All the other churches observed that solemnity on Sunday only, namely; those of Rome, Italy, Africa, Lydia, Egypt, Spain, Gaul, and Britain; and all Greece, Asia, and Pontus."- Boyle's "Historical View of the Council of Nice," page 23, edition 1836.
14. How was the matter finally decided?
"Easter day was fixed on the Sunday immediately following the full moon which was nearest after the vernal equinox."- Id., page 24.
15. What was decreed by the Council of Laodicea, A.D. 364?
That Christians should keep the Sunday, and that if they persisted in resting on the Sabbath, "they shall be shut out from Christ." See Hefele's "History of the Councils of the Church," Vol. II, page 316.
16. What imperial law was issued in A. D. 386?
"By a law of the year 386, those older changes effected by Constantine were more vigorously enforced; and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden."- Neander's "Church History," Vol. II, page 300.
17. What petition was made to the emperor by a church convention of bishops in A. D. 401?
"That the public shows might be transferred from the Christian Sunday and from the feast-days to some other days of the week."- Id.
NOTE.-The desired law was secured in 425 A.D.
18. What was the object of the church bishops in securing these Sunday laws?
"That the day might be devoted with less interruption to the purposes of devotion." "That the devotion of the faithful might be free from all disturbance."- Id., pages 297,301.
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19. How was the "devotion" of the "faithful" disturbed?
"Church teachers. . . were, in truth, often forced to complain that in such competitions the theater was vastly more frequented than the church."- Id., page 300.
20. What does Neander say of the securing of these laws?
"In this way the church received help from the state for the furtherance of her ends."- Id., page 301.
NOTE.-In this way, more perhaps than in any other, church and state were united. In this way the church gained control of the civil power, which she later used as a means of carrying on most bitter and extensive persecutions. In this way she denied Christ and the power of godliness.
21. When the church had received help from the state to this extent, what more did she demand?
That the civil power should be exerted to compel men to serve God as the church should dictate.
22. What did Augustine, the father of this theocratical or church-and-state theory, teach concerning it?
"Who doubts but what it is better to be led to God by instruction than by fear of punishment or affliction? But because the former, who will be guided only by instruction, are better, the others are still not to be neglected. . . . Many, like bad servants, must often be reclaimed to their Master by the rod of temporal suffering, ere they can attain to this highest stage of religious development."- Id., pages 214,215.
23. What is Neander's conclusion regarding this theory?
"It was by Augustine, then, that a theory was proposed and founded, which, tempered though it was, in its practical application, by his own pious, philanthropic spirit, nevertheless contained the germ of that whole system of spiritual despotism, of intolerance and persecution, which ended in the tribunals of the Inquisition." "He did not give precedence to the question, What is right? over the question, What is expedient? But a theory which overlooks these distinctions leaves room for any despotism which would make holy ends a pretext for the use of unholy means."- Id., pages 217,249,250.
NOTE.-It was thus that the union of church and state was formed, out of which was developed "the beast," or Papacy, of the Apocalypse, which made "war with the saints" and overcame them. A like course cannot fail to produce like results today. Dr. Philip Schaff, in his work on "Church and State," page 11, well says: "Secular power has proved a satanic gift to the church, and ecclesiastical power has proved an engine of tyranny in the hands of the state."
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Baptist
Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, a paper read before a New York ministers' conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner , Nov.16, 1893.
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week .... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament absolutely not.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . . But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!"
William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day , p. 49.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance."
Congregationalist
Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129.
" . . . it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath - . . 'Me Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday .... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."
Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258.
" . . . the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath."
9
Charles Spurgeon
Jesus did not come to change the law, but He came to explain it. (Mt 5:17-20) and that very fact shows that it remains, for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Assuredly there was no abrogation of law.
It was a wonderful exhibition of its’ far reaching sovereignty and of its searching character. Once more, that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in His life He willingly gave Himself to bear its penalty, though He had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “ “Christ hath redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV). But because the law asked only what it ought to ask…namely perfect obedience and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death, as the penalty for sin, death under divine wrath, therefore the Saviour went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. (Charles Spurgeon, Perpetuity of the Law of God. pp 4-7)
Dwight L. Moody: Now man may cavil as much as they like about other parts of the Bible, but I have never met an honest man that found fault with the Ten Commandments. Infidels may mock the Lawgiver and reject Him who has delivered us from the curse of the law, but they can’t help admitting that the commandments are right…they are for all nations and will remain the commandments of God through the centuries…The people must be made to understand that the TC are still binding, and that there is a penalty attached to their violation….Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey them (See Mat 5:17-20) Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting pp 11,15,16
The Character of God and His Law……
God Law
Just…Rom 3:26 Rom 7:2; Eze 18:5
True….John 3:33 Neh 9:13
Pure….1 John 3:3 Ps 19:7,8
Light…1 John 1:5 Prov 6:23
Faithful….1 Cor 1:9 Ps 119:86
Good…Nahum 1:7 Rom 12:7, 16
Spiritual…1 Cor 10:1-4 Ro 7:14
Holy…..Is 6:3; 1 Pet 1:15 Rom 7:12
Truth…John 14:6 Ps 119:142, 151
Life….John 14:6 John 12:50; Mt 19:17
Righteousness…Jer 23:6 Ps 119:172
Perfect Deu 32:4; 2 Sam 22:31 Ps 19:7, James 1:26
Forever… John 8:35, Heb 13:8 Ps 111:8; Luke 16:17
Dr. Carl Bath quotes in his church dogmatics……”Where the Holy Day becomes a day of man, society and humanity wither away and the demons rule”…De Quervain
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Friday......September 1
Further Thought: Ellen G. White, “Responsibilities of Married Life,” Testimonies for the Church, vol. 7, pp. 45–50, and “Mutual Obligations,” The Adventist Home, pp. 114–120.
Ellen G. White consistently urges marriage partners to turn away from efforts to control the other: “Do not try to compel each other to yield to your wishes. You cannot do this and retain each other’s love. Be kind, patient, and forbearing, considerate, and courteous.”—The Adventist Home, p. 118.
She comments directly on the interpretation and application of Colossians 3:18 (and Eph. 5:22–24): “The question is often asked, ‘Shall a wife have no will of her own?’ The Bible plainly states that the husband is the head of the family. ‘Wives, submit yourselves unto your own husbands.’ If this injunction ended here, we might say that the position of the wife is not an enviable one. . . . Many husbands stop at the words, ‘Wives, submit yourselves,’ but we will read the conclusion of the same injunction, which is, ‘As it is fit in the Lord’ [Col. 3:18]. God requires that the wife shall keep the fear and glory of God ever before her. Entire submission is to be made only to the Lord Jesus Christ, who has purchased her as His own child by the infinite price of His life. . . . There is One who stands higher than the husband to the wife; it is her Redeemer, and her submission to her husband is to be rendered as God has directed—‘as it is fit in the Lord.’ ”—The Adventist Home, pp. 115, 116.
Discussion Questions:
Ê Imagine someone arguing that Ephesians 5:21–33 is an out- moded passage that no longer addresses Christian relationships since it enforces a model of marriage focused on the authority and domination of the husband. How would you respond? What ele- ments from the passage itself would inform your response?
Ë What might Paul’s counsel in Ephesians 5:21–33 have to offer to those who find themselves in challenging and difficult marriage relationships?
Ì Some Christians argue that the Creation story in Genesis 1 and 2 is a mere metaphor and that it doesn’t come close to depict- ing what really happened, which was billions of years of evolution. What does Paul’s use of the story teach us about how literally he took it?
Í Dwell more on the theme of “one flesh.” How does this help us better understand the sanctity of marriage and why married couples must do everything possible to protect that sanctity?
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inside Story Visiting Inmates in Spain
By GaBrieL diaz
Working with inmates is my passion. I have participated in prison ministry everywhere that I have served as a pastor, first in my homeland of Colombia and now in Spain.
Over the past two decades, I have visited four prisons in Spain, including a maximum-security prison for women in the Spanish capital, Madrid. It took three years of talks with prison officials to gain access to this prison of 400 women. Prison authorities finally allowed me to enter the prison for the first time in 2019 and begin leading a worship service from 5:30 p.m. to 7:00 p.m. every Thursday. Only one woman showed up for the first worship service. But she was very eager and willing to listen to me.
“I’m very happy to meet you,” I told the woman. “It fills me with joy to come here. But we need to pray to meet with even more people.”
We prayed to God to bring more people to our Thursday meetings. When I arrived at the fourth meeting, 10 women were waiting for me! Today, 60 women attend the meetings every week. They range in age from 22 to about 70. Our worship program is divided into three parts: songs and prayer; a time for women to share their personal testimonies, called, “Name Your Miracle”; and Bible study.
When I speak to them, I always remind them that God is their Father in heaven. “God sees you as His daughters,” I say.
In all my years of serving as a pastor, I have never witnessed worship and praise like in the prison. The worship and praise are intense. The women are so sincere and honest in their prayers. Sometimes I long for our Thursday meetings even more than Sabbath meetings at church.
Our time together is short; so, each woman can write her personal testi- mony on a piece of paper, bring it to the meeting, and hand it to me at the end. The letters contain words of praise about how God is changing lives. I have a high stack of letters now.
A group of church members also visit with the women and give them Bible studies on weekends. They can only visit with the women behind glass. They are not allowed inside as I am. But together we are seeing fruit. Several women have given their lives to Jesus, and we also have estab-
lished contact with their relatives.
This mission story illustrates Mission Objective No. 2 of the Seventh-day Adventist Church’s “I Will Go” strategic plan: “To strengthen and diversify Adventist outreach . . . among unreached and under-reached people groups.” For more infor- mation, go to the website: IWillGo2020.org.
Provided by the General Conference Office of Adventist Mission, which uses Sabbath School
mission offerings to spread the gospel worldwide. Read new stories daily at AdventistMission.org. 87Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the holy sabbath day.....the Lords' Day.....the seventh day.
Genesis 4:7 (KJV)
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Isaiah 56:1-2 (KJV) 1 Thus saith the LORD,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
for my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it;
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV) 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction
(Jeremiah 17:21-23 KJV)
The Bible holy day is the Seventh Day.
Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Isaiah 58:
13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
Section 9
The Sabbath
Chapter 96.
The Sabbath in the New Testament
1. ACCORDING to the New Testament, what day immediately precedes the first day of the week?
"In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week." Matt. 28:1.
NOTE.-According to the New Testament, therefore, the Sabbath had passed when the first day of the week began.
2. After the crucifixion, what day was kept by the women who followed Jesus?
"And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56.
3. What day is the Sabbath, "according to the commandment"?
"But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Ex. 20:10.
4. What was Christ's custom respecting the Sabbath?
"And He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up: and, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read." Luke 4:16.
5. In what instruction to His disciples did Christ recognize the existence of the Sabbath long after His ascension?
"But pray ye that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day." Matt. 24:20.
NOTE.-The destruction of Jerusalem under Titus occurred in the spring and summer of 70 A.D. The flight of the Christians took place three and one-half years earlier, or late in October, 66 A. D., following the arrival and sudden withdrawal of Cestius and his army. See readings in Chapter 68. of this book.
6. On what day did the Jews meet for worship?
"Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath day." Acts 15:21.
7. On what day did Paul and Barnabas preach at Antioch?
"They came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day." Acts 13:14.
8. When did the Gentiles request that Paul should repeat the sermon he had preached at Antioch on the Sabbath?
"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath." Verse 42.
9. On what day did Paul and his companions preach to the devout women at Philippi?
"And on the Sabbath we went out of the city by a riverside, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither." Acts 16:13.
10. What was Paul's manner respecting the Sabbath?
"They came to Thessalonica, where was a synagogue of the Jews: and Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the Scriptures." Acts 17:1,2.
NOTE.-It was Paul's manner, as it was Christ's custom (Luke 4:16), to attend religious services on the Sabbath.
11. How did the apostle spend the working days of the week when at Corinth?
"After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; . . . and because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tent-makers." Acts 18:1-3. See Eze. 46:1.
12. What did he do on the Sabbath days?
"And he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks." Acts 18:4.
13. How long did he continue this work there?
"And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them." Verse 11.
NOTE.-Here, then, were seventy-eight Sabbaths on which Paul preached in one city. The record further says that he worked at his trade, and we may justly infer that Paul worked at tent-making just as many Sundays as he preached Sabbaths. If to these seventy-eight Sabbaths we add the three he spent at Thessalonica, the one at Philippi, and the two at Antioch, we have a record of eighty-four Sabbaths on which the apostle held religious services, while, so far as the record shows, he held only one meeting on the first day of the week, and that a night meeting, immediately following the Sabbath. See Acts 20. Evidently Sunday was not the Sabbath in Paul's day.
14. On what day was John in the Spirit?
"I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day." Rev. 1:10.
15. Who is Lord of the Sabbath?
"The Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." Mark 2:28.
16. What, through the prophet Isaiah, does the Lord call the Sabbath?
"If thou turn away thy foot from the Sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on My holy day." Isa. 58:13.
17. Why does the Lord call the Sabbath His day?
"For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex.20:11.
18. Through whom did God create the world?
"God. . . hath in these last days spoken unto us by His Son, . . . by whom also He made the worlds." Heb. 1:1,2.
NOTES.-From beginning to end, the Bible recognizes but one weekly Sabbath,- the day upon which God rested in the beginning; which was made known to Israel at Sinai (Neh. 9:13,14); was observed by Christ and His apostles; and is to be kept by the redeemed in the world to come. Isa. 66:22,23.
The terms Sabbath, Sabbaths, and Sabbath days occur sixty times in the New Testament, and in every case but one refer to the seventh day. In Col. 2:16,17, reference is made to the annual sabbaths connected with the three annual feasts observed by Israel before the first advent of Christ.
The first day of the week is mentioned but eight times in the New Testament, six of which are found in the four Gospels, and refer to the day on which Christ arose from the dead. See Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2,9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1,19. The other two (Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2) refer to the only religious meeting held on the first day of the week after the ascension, in apostolic times, recorded in the New Testament and to a systematic accounting and laying by in store at home on that day for the poor saints in Judea and Jerusalem.
It is evident, therefore, that the Sabbath of the New Testament is the same as the Sabbath of the Old Testament, and that there is nothing in the New Testament setting aside the seventh-day Sabbath, and putting the first day of the week in its place.
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Medieval Scholastic philosophers and theologians, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure, held that all the commandments are a part of the natural law and are therefore knowable to all thinking people. They maintained that God revealed the commandments to Moses to remind humankind of its obligations, easily forgotten because of original sin.
Actually, these scholars were echoing a similar idea expressed by early Fathers of the Church, such as Tertullian and Augustine, that the commandments had already been engraved on the human heart before they were written on the tablets of stone.
Parallels to the Decalogue are found in the laws of other ancient peoples. In Egyptian religion, for example, the observance of certain precepts (prohibitions against theft, murder, and injustice) was necessary for entrance into the shrine of Osiris, god and judge of the dead. Biblical scholars feel, however, that the Ten Commandments differ from the moral codes of other ancient religious systems in their explicit monotheism, their doctrine of God's awesome majesty and boundless goodness, and their extension of moral obligation to the most intimate and hidden desires of the human heart.
In the New Testament, all the commandments are mentioned but never in a list of ten.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
A Doctrinal Catechism by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, p. 174
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act,… (A quotation from a letter written in November, 1895, by Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Carkinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath.)
WHO CHANGED THE
SABBATH SATURDAY TO SUNDAY?
Roman Catholic: No such law in the Bible "Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the Seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, all Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church outside the Bible." Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947
"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 sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays?
By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church." Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p.58 (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris [1916 ed.], p.67)
"The Catholic Church,... by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.
" The Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Sept. 23, 1893.
"Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the 10 Commandments?"
"I answer yes".
"Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, the 1st day?"
"I answer yes".
"Did Christ change the day?"
"I answer no!" Faithfully yours, "J. Cardinal Gibbons" Gibbons' autograph letter.
Todays' sabbath school lesson: Saturday,,,,,,*September 2–8 Practicing Supreme Loyalty to
Christ
Sabbath afternoon
Read for This Week’s Study: Eph. 6:1–9; Mark 10:13–16; Col. 3:21; 1 Pet. 2:18–25; 2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25.
Memory Text: “And masters, treat your slaves in the same way. Do not threaten them, since you know that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven, and there is no favoritism with him” (Ephesians 6:9, NIV).
In 2018, an artifact at the Museum of the Bible in Washington, DC, attracted much attention. It was an abridged Bible designed to teach essentials of faith while deleting any passage inciting rebellion by slaves. Published in 1808, the text does not just remove a passage here or there. Ninety percent of the Old Testament is missing, and 50 percent of the New. Of the 1,189 chapters in the Bible, only 232 remain.
Passages seeming to reinforce the evils of slavery, especially in the absence of so much of the Bible’s narrative of “good news,” are left fully intact, including such oft-misused texts as “Servants, be obedient to them that are your masters according to the flesh, with fear and trembling, in singleness of your heart, as unto Christ” (Eph. 6:5).
Today, in our time and culture, our important challenge is to read Ephesians 6:1–9 in the context of the full story of salvation, as is revealed in the complete Bible. What can we learn as we watch Paul apply the values of the gospel to the flawed social structures of his day?
* Study this week’s lesson to prepare for Sabbath, September 9.Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the first workday of the week. The RCC/"Protestant" "self made "holy" day??????
Genesis 4:7 (KJV)
7 If thou doest well, shalt thou not be accepted? and if thou doest not well, sin lieth at the door. And unto thee shall be his desire, and thou shalt rule over him.
Genesis 26:5 (KJV)
5 Because that Abraham obeyed my voice, and kept my charge, my commandments, my statutes, and my laws.
Isaiah 56:1-2 (KJV) 1 Thus saith the LORD,
Keep ye judgment, and do justice:
for my salvation is near to come,
and my righteousness to be revealed.
2 Blessed is the man that doeth this,
and the son of man that layeth hold on it;
that keepeth the sabbath from polluting it,
and keepeth his hand from doing any evil.
Isaiah 58:13-14 (KJV) 13 If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath,
from doing thy pleasure on my holy day;
and call the sabbath a delight,
the holy of the Lord, honourable;
and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways,
nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the Lord;
and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth,
and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father:
for the mouth of the Lord hath spoken it.
Thus saith the Lord; Take heed to yourselves, and bear no burden on the sabbath day, nor bring it in by the gates of Jerusalem; 22 Neither carry forth a burden out of your houses on the sabbath day, neither do ye any work, but hallow ye the sabbath day, as I commanded your fathers. 23 But they obeyed not, neither inclined their ear, but made their neck stiff, that they might not hear, nor receive instruction
(Jeremiah 17:21-23 KJV)
The Bible holy day is the Seventh Day.
Genesis 2:
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
Exodus 20:
8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Leviticus 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
Isaiah 58:
13 ¶If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
14 Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.
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Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the NEW LAW, that he himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath.
But this theory is entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as holy days. The church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days."
John Laux A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies 1936, vol.1 p.51
What day is the Sabbath day?
Saturday is the Sabbath day.
Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemity from Saturday to Sunday."
Peter Geiermann, The Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1946 ed.), p.50. Geiermann received the "apostolic blessing" of Pope Pius X on his labors, January 25, 1910.
"The Catholic 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
"The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is an homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] church." Monsignor Louis Segur, Plain Talk About the Protestantism of Today (1868), p. 213
Exodus 20: 8-11,
(8) Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. (9) Six days shalt thou labor and do all thy work: (10) But the Seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates: (11) For in six days the Lord made the heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the Seventh day: wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Colossians 2:8 warns us to:
Beware lest any man spoil you through philosophy and vain deceit, after the tradition of men after the rudiments of the world, and not after Christ.
What power has claimed authority to change God's law?
The Papacy in Rome.
"The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even Divine Laws...The Pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts as vicegerent of God upon earth." Translated from Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca (Ready Library), "Papa", art. 2.
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: sunday.....September 3 Advice to Children
What advice does Paul give to children, and how does he support that counsel from the Old Testament? Eph. 6:1–3. (See also Matt. 18:1–5, 10; Mark 10:13–16.)
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To appreciate fully Paul’s counsel to children, we must imagine it being read out in the house churches of the thriving metropolis of Ephesus. The word “children” (Greek, ta tekna) could refer to a wide range of ages, since children remained under the father’s authority until the father was 60 (in the Greek tradition) or until his death (in the Roman one). These children, though, are young enough to be under parental training (Eph. 6:4) but old enough themselves to be disciples in their own right.
We hear Paul appealing to children, who were worshiping in Christian congregations, to obey and honor their parents “in the Lord,” that is, in Christ (compare Eph. 5:22; Eph. 6:4, 5, 7–9). We are invited here to respect children as themselves being disciples of Christ and to include them as active participants in worship. This makes the passage a foundational one for parenting and for ministry to children.
Paul’s command to obey is not absolute. When the commands of parents “contradict the requirements of Christ, then, painful though it may be, they [children] must obey God and trust the consequences with Him.”—Ellen G. White, The Adventist Home, p. 293.
Paul completes his exhortation to children by quoting the fifth com- mandment, bearing witness to the high value he places on the Ten Commandments as a source of guidance for Christian believers (an obvious feature of Eph. 4:1–6:9; especially Eph. 4:25, 28; Eph. 5:3–14). He begins the quotation (“ ‘Honor your father and mother,’ ” Eph. 6:2, NKJV), breaks into it with an editorial comment (“which is the first commandment with promise,” Eph. 6:2, NKJV), and then completes the citation (“ ‘that it may be well with you and you may live long on the earth,’ ” Eph. 6:3, NKJV). The fifth commandment bears witness that honoring parents is part of God’s design for human beings to thrive. Respect for parents, imperfect though they may be, will help foster health and well-being.
How do these verses reinforce how important family relation- ships are?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the second workday of the week.
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 107.
Sabbath Legislation
1. WHO made the Sabbath?
"In six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day; wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day, and hallowed it." Ex. 20:11.
2. To whom does the Sabbath belong?
"The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God." Verse 10.
3. To whom, then, should its observance be rendered? "Render to Caesar the things that are Caesar's, and to God the things that are God's." Mark 12:17.
NOTE.-When men make Sabbath laws, therefore, they require Sabbath observance to be rendered to the government, or, presumably, by indirection, to God through the government, which amounts to the same thing.
4. In religious things, to whom alone are we accountable?
"So then every one of us shall give account of himself to God." Rom. 14:12.
NOTE.-But when men make compu1sory Sabbath laws, they make men accountable to the government for Sabbath observance.
5. How does God command us to keep the Sabbath day?
"Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." Ex. 20:8.
6. What does He indicate as one of its purposes?
"Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, an holy convocation; ye shall do no work therein: it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." Lev. 23:3.
Page 489
7. Seeing, then, that the Sabbath is holy, is to be kept holy, and is a day for holy convocations, what must be its character?
It must be religious.
8. What, then, must be the nature of all Sabbath legislation?
It is religious legislation.
9. When the state enacts religious laws, what is effected?
A union of church and state.
10. What has always been the result of religious legislation, or a union of church and state?
Religious intolerance and persecution.
11. What was Constantine's Sunday law of March 7, 321?
"Let all the judges and town people, and the occupation
of all trades rest on the venerable day of the sun; but let those who are situated in the country, freely and at full liberty, attend to the business of agriculture; because it often happens that no other day is so fit for sowing corn and planting vines; lest the critical moment being let slip, men should lose the commodities granted by heaven."- Corpus Juris Civilis Cod., lib. 3, tit. 12, 3.
12. What further imperial legislation in behalf of Sunday observance was issued in 386?
"By a law of the year 386, those older changes effected by the emperor Constantine were more rigorously enforced, and, in general, civil transactions of every kind on Sunday were strictly forbidden."- Neander's "Church History," Vol. II, . page 300, edition 1852.
13. At the instance of church bishops, what still further law was secured under Theodosius the Younger, in 425?
"In the year 425, the exhibition of spectacles on Sunday and on the principal feast-days of the Christians was forbidden, in order that the devotion of the faithful might be free from all disturbance."- Id., pages 300, 301.
14. What does the historian say of this legislation?
"In this way the church received help from the state for the furtherance of her ends. . . . But had it not been for that confusion of spiritual and secular interests, had it not been for the vast number of mere outward conversions thus brought about, she would have needed no such help."- Id., page 301.
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15. What did Charlemagne's Sunday law of 800 require?
"We decree. . . that servile works should not be done on the Lord's day, . . . that is, that neither should men do field work, either in cultivating the vineyards or by plowing in the fields, by cutting or drying hay, or by placing a fence, or by making clearings in the woods or felling trees or working on stones or constructing houses or working in the garden; neither should they come together to decide public matters nor be engaged in the hunt. . . . Women may not do any textile work nor cut out clothes nor sew nor make garments. . . . But let them come together from all sides to church to the solemnities of the mass, and let them praise God for all things which he does for us on that day."- "Historical Chronicles of Germany," Sec. 2, Vol. I, 22 General admonition, 789, M. Martio 23, page 61, par. 81.
16. How does the Sunday law of Charles II, of 1676, read?
"For the better observation and keeping holy the Lord's day, commonly called Sunday: be it enacted. . . that all the laws enacted and in force concerning the observation of the day, and repairing to the church thereon, be carefully put in execution; and that all and every person and persons whatsoever shall on every Lord's day apply themselves to the observation of the same, by exercising themselves thereon in the duties of piety and true religion, publicly and privately."- "Revised Statutes of England From 1235-1685 A.D." (London, 1870), pages 779,780; cited in "A Critical History of Sunday Legislation," by A. H. Lewis, D. D., pages 108, 109.
17. What did the first Sunday law enacted in America, that of Virginia, in 1610, require?
"Every man and woman shall repair in the morning to the divine service and sermons preached upon the Sabbath day, and in the afternoon to divine service, and catechizing, upon pain for the first fault to lose their provision and the allowance for the whole week following; for the second, to lose the said allowance and also be whipped; and for the third to suffer death."- Articles, Laws, and Orders, Divine, Politique, and Martial, for the Colony in Virginia: first established by Sir Thomas Gates, Knight, Lieutenant-General, the 24th of May, 1610.
NOTES.-These are the original Sunday laws, after which all the Sunday laws of Europe and America have been modeled. Church attendance is not generally required by the Sunday laws of the present day, nor was it required, in terms, by the earliest Sunday laws; but that is and ever has, been the chief object of all Sunday legislation from Constantine's time on, and it is as much out of place today as it ever was.
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What part of the law of God has the papacy thought to change?
The Fourth Commandment.
"Catholics alledge the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's day, contrary, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue; and they have no example more in their mouth than the change of the Sabbath. They will needs have to be very great, because it hath dispensed with a precept of the Decalogue." The Augsburg Confession (Lutheran), part 2, art. 7, in Philip Schaff, The Creeds of Christendom (Harper), vol. 3, p. 64.
"It [the Roman Catholic Church] reversed the Fourth Commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's word and instituting Sunday as a holiday." N. Summerbell, History of the Christian Church (1873), p. 415.
Does the papacy acknowledge changing the Sabbath?
It does.
The Catechismus Romanus was commanded by the Council of Trent and published by the Vatican Press, by order of Pope Pius V, in 1566. This catechism for priests says: "It pleased the church of God, that the religious celebration of the Sabbath day should be transferred to 'the Lord's day. Sunday.'" Catechism of the Council of Trent (Donovan's translation, 1867), part 3, chap. 4, p. 345. The same in slightly different wording, is in the McHugh and Callan translation (1937 ed.), p. 402.
Do Catholic authorities acknowledge that there is no command in the bible for santification of Sunday?
They do.
"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." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp. 72,73.
How did Sunday observance originate?
As a voluntary celebration of the Resurrection, a custom without pretense of Divine authority.
Who first enjoined Sunday keeping by law?
Constantine the Great.
"The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D., enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili die solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, 11th ed., art. "Sunday".
By what church council was the observance of the seventh day forbidden and Sunday observance enjoined?
The Council of Laodicea, in Asia Minor, fourth century.
What kind of worship does the Saviour call that which is not according to God's commandments?
"But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men." Matt. 15:9
Peter Geiermann, C.S.S.R., The Converts Catechism of Catholic Doctrine (1957), p. 50.
"Question: Which is the Sabbath day?
"Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day.
"Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?"Answer. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday."
Martin J. Scott, Things Catholics Are Asked About (1927),p. 136.
"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. This same Church, by the same divine authority, taught the doctrine of Purgatory long before the Bible was made.
We have, therefore, the same authority for Purgatory as we have for Sunday."
Peter R. Kraemer, Catholic Church Extension Society (1975),Chicago, Illinois.
"Regarding the change from the observance of the Jewish Sabbath to the Christian Sunday, I wish to draw your attention to the facts:
That Protestants, who accept the Bible as the only rule of faith and religion, should by all means go back to the observance of the Sabbath. The fact that they do not, but on the contrary observe the Sunday, stultifies them in the eyes of every thinking man.
"2) We Catholics do not accept the Bible as the only rule of faith. Besides the Bible we have the living Church, the authority of the Church, as a rule to guide us. We say, this Church, instituted by Christ to teach and guide man through life, has the right to change the ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and hence, we accept her change of the Sabbath to Sunday. We frankly say, yes, the Church made this change, made this law, as she made many other laws, for instance, the Friday abstinence, the unmarried priesthood, the laws concerning mixed marriages, the regulation of Catholic marriages and a thousand other laws.
It is always somewhat laughable, to see the Protestant churches, in pulpit and legislation, demand the observance of Sunday, of which there is nothing in their Bible."
"I have repeatedly offered $1,000 to anyone who can prove to me from the Bible alone that I am bound to keep Sunday holy. There is no such law in the Bible. It is a law of the holy Catholic Church alone. The Bible says,
Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture at Hartford, Kansas, Feb. 18,1884.
'Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.' The Catholic Church says: 'No. By my divine power I abolish the Sabbath day and command you to keep holy the first day of the week.' And lo! The entire civilized world bows down in a reverent obedience to the command of the holy Catholic Church."
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Monday.....September 4 Advice to Parents
Compare Ephesians 6:4 and Colossians 3:21.What motivation does Colossians 3:21 provide for avoiding irritating one’s children?
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Sirach, a Jewish document available in Paul’s day, advises fathers about the treatment of their sons: “He who loves his son will whip him often. . . . Pamper a child, and he will terrorize you; play with him, and he will grieve you. . . . Discipline your son and make his yoke heavy, so that you may not be offended by his shamelessness” (Sirach 30:1, 9, 13, NRSV).
Paul’s counsel bears a very different tone. He first addresses a nega- tive command to fathers: “Do not provoke your children to anger,” fol- lowed by a positive one, “Bring them up in the discipline and instruc- tion of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, ESV). In Paul’s day, fathers had complete legal power over their children, who were regarded as his property. Fathers had the right to inflict violent punishment, even death, on their children. Indeed, in some respects a father’s power over his children exceeded a master’s authority over his slaves. Paul is not endorsing such power but is boldly clarifying and reshaping family relationships. In the context of a supreme loyalty to Christ, Paul invites Christian fathers to rethink their use of power since children who are provoked to anger will not be well positioned to accept “the discipline and instruc- tion of the Lord” (Eph. 6:4, ESV).
“Fathers and mothers, in the home you are to represent God’s disposi- tion. You are to require obedience, not with a storm of words, but in a kind, loving manner. . . .
“Be pleasant in the home. Restrain every word that would arouse unholy temper. ‘Fathers, provoke not your children to wrath,’ is a divine injunction. . . .
“No license is given in God’s Word for parental severity or oppression or for filial disobedience. The law of God, in the home life and in the government of nations, flows from a heart of infinite love.”—Ellen G. White, Child Guidance, p. 259.
Though the context of the lesson here deals with parents and chil- dren, what principles can be taken from these texts that should impact how we should deal with all other people?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the third work day of the week.
Section 10
Christian Liberty
Chapter 108.
Who Persecute and Why
1. BECAUSE Jesus had not kept the Sabbath according to their ideas, what did the Jews do?
"Therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay Him, because He had done these things on the Sabbath day." John 5:16.
2. What kind of fast is most acceptable to God?
"Is not this the fast that I have chosen? to loose the bands of wickedness, to undo the heavy burdens, and to let the oppressed go free, and that ye break every yoke?" Isa. 58:6.
NOTE.-This is what Jesus did. He, the Author and Lord of the Sabbath, in addition to attending and taking part in religious services (Luke 4:16), went about doing good, healing the sick, relieving the oppressed, and restoring the impotent, lame, and blind, on the Sabbath day. But this, while in perfect accord with the law of God, the great law of love, was contrary to the traditions and perverted ideas of the Jews respecting the Sabbath. Hence they persecuted Him, and sought to slay Him.
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3. Why did Cain kill Abel?
"For this is the message that ye have heard from the beginning, that we should love one another. Not as Cain, who was of that wicked one, and slew his brother. And wherefore slew he him? Because his own works were evil, and his brother's righteous." 1 John 3:11,12.
NOTE.-The following comment upon this passage by M. de Chesnais, a Catholic priest of New Zealand, is well put: "If you would read the Word of God, you would find that from the beginning all good people were persecuted because they were good. Abel wag slain by his brother because he was good, and Cain could not endure the sight of him."- Kaikoura (New Zealand) Star, April 10, 1884.
4. Commenting upon the treatment of Isaac, the son of Sarah, by Ishmael, the son of the bondwoman, what principle does the apostle Paul lay down?
"But as then, he that was born after the flesh persecuted him that was born after the Spirit, even so it is now." Gal. 4:29.
5. What other instances of persecution mentioned in the Bible, demonstrate the correctness of this principle?
a. Esau, who sold his birthright, persecuted Jacob, who
vowed his loyalty to God. Gen. 25:29-34; 27:41; 32:6.
b. The wayward and envious sons of Jacob persecuted Joseph, who feared God. Genesis 37; Acts 7:9.
c. The idolatrous Egyptians persecuted the Hebrews, who worshiped the true God. Exodus 1 and 5.
d. The Hebrew who did his neighbor wrong thrust Moses, as mediator, aside. Ex. 2:13,14; Acts 7:26,27.
e. Saul, who disobeyed God, persecuted David, who feared God. 1 Samuel 15, 19, 24.
f. Israel, in their apostasy, persecuted Elijah and Jeremiah, who were prophets of God. 1 Kings 19:9,10; Jer. 36:20-23; 38:1-6.
g. Nebuchadnezzar, while an idolater, persecuted the three Hebrew captives for refusing to worship idols. Daniel 3.
h. The envious and idolatrous princes under Darius, persecuted Daniel for daring to pray to the God of heaven. Daniel 6.
i. The murderers of Christ persecuted the apostles for preaching Christ. Acts 4 and 5.
j. Paul, before his conversion, persecuted the church of God. Acts 8:1; 9:1,2; 22:4,5,20; 26:9-11; Gal. 1:13; 1 Tim. 1:12,13.
NOTE.-The history of all the religious persecutions since Bible times is but a repetition of this same story,- the wicked persecute the righteous. And thus It will continue to be until the conflict between good and evil is ended.
6. Who does Paul say shall suffer persecution?
"Yea, and all that will live godly in Christ Jesus shall suffer persecution." 2 Tim. 3:12.
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7. What is essential to extensive religious persecution? Ecclesiastical control of the civil power, or a union of church and state.
8. Since persecution is invariably wrong, and the persecutor is generally in the wrong on religious subjects, what must be true of persecuting governments?
They likewise must be in the wrong.
NOTES.-"There are many who do not seem to be sensible that all violence in religion is irreligious, and that, whoever is wrong, the persecutor cannot be right."- Thomas Clarke.
"Have not almost all the governments in the world always been in the wrong on religious subjects?"- Macaulay.
"Do not the Scriptures clearly show that they who persecute are generally in the wrong, and they who suffer persecution in the right,- that the majority has always been on the side of falsehood, and the minority only on the side of truth?"- Luther.
"Religion was intended to bring peace on earth and good will towards men, and whatever tends to hatred and persecution, however correct in the letter, must be utterly wrong in the spirit."- Henry Varnum.
God never forces the will or the conscience; but, in order to bring men under sin, Satan resorts to force. To accomplish his purpose, he works through religious and secular rulers, influencing them to enact and enforce human laws in defiance of the law of God.
9. Under what terrible deception did Christ say men would persecute His followers?
"These things have I spoken unto you, that ye should not be offended. They shall put you out of the synagogues: yea, the time cometh, that whosoever killeth you will think that he doeth God service." John 16:1,2.
10. Who is the original murderer?
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him. When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44.
11. When James and John wished to call down fire from heaven to consume the Samaritans who did not receive Christ, what did Christ say to them?
"He turned, and rebuked them, and said, Ye know not what manner of spirit ye are of. For the Son of man is not come to destroy men's lives, but to save them." Luke 9: 55;56.
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NOTES.-Some or the reasons given in justification of persecution may be noted in the following quotations:-
"The state cannot afford to permit religious liberty. We hear a great deal about religious tolerance, but we are only tolerant in so far as we are not interested. A person may be tolerant toward a religion if he is not religious. . . Intolerance means fervor and zeal. The best the state can do is to establish a limited religious liberty; but beyond a certain degree of tolerance the state cannot afford to admit the doctrine."- Monsignor Russell (Catholic), quoted in Washington Post, May 5, 1910.
"The church has persecuted. Only a tyro in church history will deny that. . . . We have always defended the persecution of the Huguenots, and the Spanish Inquisition. When she thinks it good to use physical force, she will use it. . . . But will the Catholic Church give bond that she will not persecute at all? Will she guarantee absolute freedom and equality of all churches and all faiths? The Catholic Church gives no bonds for her good behavior."- Editorial in Western Watchman (Catholic), of St. Louis, Mo., Dec. 24,1908.
"The Inquisition was a very merciful tribunal; I repeat it, almost a compassionate tribunal. . . . A man was only allowed to be racked once, which no one can deny was a most wonderful leniency in those times."- Catholic Mirror, official organ of Cardinal Gibbons, Aug. 29, 1896.
"We confess that the Roman Catholic Church is intolerant; that is to say, that it uses all the means in its power for the extirpation of error and sin; but this intolerance is the logical and necessary consequence of her infallibility. She alone has the right to be intolerant, because she alone has the truth. The church tolerates heretics where she is obliged to do so, but she hates them mortally, and employs all her force to secure their annihilation."- Shepherd of the Valley (St. Louis, Mo.), 1876.
This erroneous position has been well refuted by Lord Macaulay in the following words: "The doctrine which, from the very first origin of religious dissensions, has been held by all bigots of all sects, when condensed into few words and stripped of rhetorical disguise, is simply this: I am in the right, and you are in the wrong. When you are the stronger, you ought to tolerate me; for it is your duty to tolerate truth. But when I am the stronger, I shall persecute you; for it is my duty to persecute error."- Essay on "Sir James Mackintosh."
Benjamin Franklin well said: "When religion is good it will take care of itself; when it is not able to take care of itself, and God does not see fit to take care of it, so that it has to appeal to the civil power for support, it is evidence to my mind that its cause is a bad one."- Letter to Dr. Price.
John Wesley gave the following Christian advice: "Condemn no man for not thinking as you think. Let every one enjoy the full and free liberty of thinking for himself. Let every man use his own judgment, since every man must give an account of himself to God. Abhor every approach, in any kind or degree, to the spirit of persecution. If you cannot reason nor persuade a man into the truth, never attempt to force a man into it. If love will not compel him to come, leave him to God, the Judge of all."
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12. What does Christ say of those who are persecuted for righteousness' sake?
"Blessed are they which are persecuted for righteousness' sake: for theirs is the kingdom of heaven. Blessed are ye, when men shall revile you, and persecute you, and shall say all manner of evil against you falsely, for My sake. Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven: for so persecuted they the prophets which were before you." Matt. 5:10-12. See Rev. 2:10; 6:9-11.
"In the furnace God may prove thee,
Thence to bring thee forth more bright;
But He can never cease to love thee;
Thou art precious in His sight:
God is with thee,-
God, thine everlasting light."
13. What divine precepts received and obeyed would do way with all oppression and persecution?
"Thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself." Matt. 22:39.
"All things whatsoever ye would that men should do to you, do ye even so to them." Matt. 7:12.
14. What does love not do?
"Love worketh no ill to his neighbor: therefore love is the fulfilling of the law." Rom. 13:10.
THE BIGOT'S CREED
Believe as I believe- no more, no less;
That I am right, and no one else, confess;
Feel as I feel, think only as I think;
Eat what I eat, and drink but what I drink;
Look as I look, do always as I do;
And, only then, I'll fellowship with you.
That I am right, and always right, I know,
Because my own convictions tell me so;
And to be right is simply this: to be
Entirely and in all respects like me.
To deviate a jot, or to begin
To question, doubt, or hesitate, is sin.
Let sink the drowning man, if he'll not swim
Upon the plank that I throw out to him;
Let starve the famishing, if he'll not eat
My kind and quantity of bread and meat;
Let freeze the naked, too, if he'll not be
Supplied with garments such as made for me.
'Twere better that the sick should die than live,
Unless they take the medicine I give;
'Twere better sinners perish than refuse
To be conformed to my peculiar views.
'Twere better that the world stood still than move
In any way that I do not approve.
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Protestant Confessions
Protestant theologians and preachers from a wide spectrum of denominations have been quite candid in admitting that there is no Biblical authority for observing Sunday as a sabbath.
Anglican/Episcopal
Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism , vol. 1, pp.334, 336.
"And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day .... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the church has enjoined it."
Canon Eyton, The Ten Commandments , pp. 52, 63, 65.
"There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday .... into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters.... The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday."
Bishop Seymour, Why We Keep Sunday .
We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy Catholic Church."
Baptist
Dr. Edward T. Hiscox, a paper read before a New York ministers' conference, Nov. 13, 1893, reported in New York Examiner , Nov.16, 1893.
"There was and is a commandment to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will be said, however, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week .... Where can the record of such a transaction be found? Not in the New Testament absolutely not.
"To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' intercourse with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question . . . never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated.
"Of course, I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history . . . . But what a pity it comes branded with the mark of paganism, and christened with the name of the sun god, adopted and sanctioned by the papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism!"
William Owen Carver, The Lord's Day in Our Day , p. 49.
"There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance."
Todays' Sabbath school lesson: Tuesday.........September 5
Slavery in Paul’s Day
Read through the counsel to slaves and slave masters in the following passages: Eph. 6:5–9; Col. 3:22–4:1; 1 Cor. 7:20–24; 1 Tim. 6:1, 2; 1 Pet. 2:18–25. How would you summarize this advice?
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It is startling to hear Paul address Christian slave masters and to imagine Christian slaves and their Christian slave master seated together in the house churches of Ephesus. Slavery in the Greco-Roman world could differ from the later version in the New World in significant ways. It was not focused on a single ethnic group. Urban, household slaves were sometimes offered opportunities for education and could work as architects, physicians, and philosophers. Freedom sometimes occurred for these household slaves after a limited period of service, though most slaves never gained their freedom. In an attempt to acknowledge such differences, a number of recent Bible versions translate the Greek term doulos (“slave”) in Ephesians 6:5–8 as “bondservant.”
Regardless, slavery at any time, in any culture, in any circumstances, is an inexcusable evil, and God will judge, and condemn, slaveholders according to His infinite justice—and for that we can be thankful.
The cry of ex-slave Publilius Syrus is haunting: “It is beautiful to die instead of being degraded as a slave.” Given the full range of these reali- ties, the translation of doulos as “slave” is to be preferred (NIV, NRSV), especially since these slaves are living under the threat of their masters (Eph. 6:9).
Slavery was an ever-present evil in Paul’s world. He addresses it, not as a social reformer but as a pastor who advises believers how to deal with current realities and to cast a new vision centered on the transformation of the individual believer, which later could have wider implications for society at large: “His vision was not for manumission of slaves in the Roman Empire. Rather his view was about something other than legal manumission, that is, a new creation sibling-based fellowship on the basis of adoption as children of God. . . . For Paul the social revolution was to occur in the church, in the body of Christ, at the local level, and in the Christian house church and household.” —Scot McKnight, The Letter to Philemon (Grand Rapids, MI: Eerdmans Publishing, 2017), pp. 10, 11.
One of the great stains on Christian history is how some used these biblical passages about slavery to justify this evil. What frightening message should we take away about how carefully we need to handle the Word of God?
91Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fourth workday of the week...mittwoch.....
Section 11
Life Only In Christ
Chapter 109.
Origin, History,
and Destiny of Satan
1. HAVE any others than the human family sinned?
"God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved, unto judgment." 2 Peter 2:4.
2. What is the name of the one who led the angels to sin?
"Depart from Me, ye cursed, into everlasting fire, prepared for the devil and his angels." Matt. 25:41.
3. By what other names is he known?
"And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world." Rev. 12:9. See also Isa. 14:12, where he is called "Lucifer."
4. What was Satan's condition when created?
"Thou wast perfect in thy ways from the day that thou wast created, till iniquity was found in thee." Eze. 28:15.
5. What description is given of him by the prophet Ezekiel?
"Thus saith the Lord God; Thou sealest up the sum, full of wisdom, and perfect in beauty. Thou hast been in Eden the garden of God; every precious stone was thy covering, . . . the workmanship of thy tabrets and of thy pipes was prepared in thee in the day that thou wast created. Thou art the anointed cherub that covereth; and I have set thee so: thou wast upon the holy mountain of God; thou hast walked up and down in the midst of the stones of fire." Verses 12-14.
NOTE.-From this it is evident that Satan was a high and exalted angel before he fell, a masterpiece of wisdom and beauty. From the reference to his "tabrets" and "pipes" it seems probable that he was chorister of heaven, and led the angelic host in song. In the earthly sanctuary the cherubim overshadowed the mercy-seat. Ex. 25:16-22; Heb. 9:3-5; Ps. 99:1.
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6. What unholy, ambitious spirit took possession of Satan, and led to his fall?
"For thou hast said in thine heart, I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God: I will sit also upon the mount of the congregation, in the sides of the north: I will ascend above the heights of the clouds; I will be like the Most High." Isa. 14:13,14.
7. Did pride also contribute to his fall?
"Thine heart was lifted up because of thy beauty, thou hast corrupted thy wisdom by reason of thy brightness." Eze. 28:17.
8. What does Solomon say precedes destruction and a fall?
"Pride goeth before destruction, and an haughty spirit before a fall." Prov. 16:18.
9. How does the prophet Isaiah describe Satan's fall?
"How art thou fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! how art thou cut down to the ground, which didst weaken the nations!" Isa. 14:12.
10. Why was Satan cast from his high position?
"By the multitude of thy merchandise they have filled the midst of thee with violence, and thou hast sinned: therefore I will cast thee as profane out of the mountain of God: and I will destroy thee, O covering cherub, from the midst of the stones of fire." Eze. 28:16.
11. When cast out of the mountain of God, to what place were Satan and his angels banished, to be kept till the judgment?
"For if God spared not the angels that sinned, but cast them down to hell, and delivered them into chains of darkness, to be reserved unto judgment." 2 Peter 2:4.
NOTE.-This, we understand, is the darkness surrounding this world, and is symbolic of the darkness of utter hopelessness and despair in rebellion and sin. When Satan led man to sin, darkness was brought upon this world. But God did not leave man to hopelessness. In His mercy and great love He caused "the light of the glorious gospel of Christ" to shine, to call men "out of darkness into His marvelous light." That Satan and the angels who fell with him had a period of probation and opportunity to repent, there can be no doubt. Their fate is the result of stubborn rebellion and persistence in sin in spite of the overtures of mercy and the offers of pardon. For this they were cast out of heaven. The wicked angels are kept in everlasting chains of darkness.
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12. How is the conflict which took place in heaven between Christ and Satan described by the revelator?
"And there was war in heaven: Michael and His angels
fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels, and prevailed not; neither was their place found any more in heaven. And the great dragon was cast out, that old serpent, called the Devil, and Satan, which deceiveth the whole world: he was cast out into the earth, and his angels were cast out with him." Rev. 12:7-9.
13. In what terms did Christ refer to Satan's fall?
"And He said unto them, I beheld Satan as lightning fall from heaven." Luke 10:18.
14. Has Satan ever appeared before God since his fall?
"Now there was a day when the sons of God came to present themselves before the Lord, and Satan came also among them." Job 1:6. See also chapter 2:1.
15. When asked whence he came, what was Satan's reply?
"Then Satan answered the Lord, and said, From going to and fro in the earth, and from walking up and down in it." Job 1:7. See Job 2:2.
NOTE.-By tempting man to sin, Satan usurped man's dominion over the earth. Rom. 6:16; 2 Peter 2:19. This he now claims as his kingdom (Luke 4:6); hence the temptation in offering the kingdoms of this world to Christ. As the "god" and ruler of this world, Satan, for four thousand years before the crucifixion of Christ, appeared before God among the representatives of other worlds, as the representative of this world. After accomplishing the death of Christ, the Son of God, the sinless One, Satan was cast out of this council, or assembly, and has not been permitted to enter it since. This was his second fall, and the one doubtless, to which Christ, just before His crucifixion, alluded when he said, "Now is the judgment of this world: now shall the prince of this world be cast out." John 12:31. His final fall and destruction are still future.
16. What has been the character of Satan since his fall?
"He that committeth sin is of the devil; for the devil sinneth from the beginning." 1 John 3:8.
17. Was he ever in the truth?
"Ye are of your father the devil, and the lusts of your father ye will do. He was a murderer from the beginning, and abode not in the truth, because there is no truth in him." John 8:44.
NOTE.-The expression "abode not in the truth" implies that Satan was once in the truth, but that he did not remain there.
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18. What is the only "beginning" of which we have record?
"In the beginning God created the heaven and the earth." Gen. 1:1.
19. What besides a murderer did Christ say Satan is?
"When he speaketh a lie, he speaketh of his own: for he is a liar, and the father of it." John 8:44.
20. What did God tell Adam and Eve would be the result if they transgressed by partaking of the forbidden fruit?
"Thou shalt surely die." Gen. 2:17.
21. What did Satan say to Eve concerning this?
"And the serpent said unto the woman, Ye shall NOT surely die." Gen. 3:4.
NOTE.-This, as far as the record shows, was the first lie,- a direct denial of the word of God. By persuading Eve to accept and believe it, Satan led our first parents to commit sin; and, as "the wages of sin is death," by it, also, he caused their death, and so became, in reality, the first murderer. A lie, therefore, is a twin brother to murder, and one of the most hateful things to God, the "God of truth." See Prov. 6:16-19. "The lip of truth shall be established forever: but a lying tongue is but for a moment." Prov. 12:19. "All liars shall have their part in the lake which burneth with fire and brimstone." Rev. 21:8. See also Rev. 21:27; 22:15.
22. What has been the result of sin's entrance into the world?
"By one man sin entered into the world, and death by sin." Rom. 5:12. "By one man's disobedience many were made sinners." Verse 19. "The whole world lieth in wickedness." 1 John 5:19. "In Adam all die." 1 Cor. 15:22.
23. When Christ came to redeem man, what did Satan do?
"And immediately the Spirit driveth Him into the wilderness. And He was there in the wilderness forty days, tempted of Satan." Mark 1:12,13. See also Matt. 4:1-11.
24. How severely was Christ tempted of Satan?
"For we have not an High Priest which cannot be touched with the feeling of our infirmities; but was in all points tempted like as we are, yet without sin." Heb. 4:15.
25. What has the church suffered since the days of Christ?
"And when the dragon [Satan] saw that he was cast unto the earth, he persecuted the woman [the church]." Rev. 12:13.
NOTE.-Many millions of the people of God have been put to death since the beginning of the Christian era, under pagan and papal persecutions, all of which have been instigated by Satan. See Buck's Theological Dictionary, any commentary or church history on the subject of persecution, and the readings in Chapters 51., 59., 60. and 108. of this book.
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26. Is the remnant church to feel his wrath, and why?
"And the dragon ,vas wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." Verse 17.
27. How will Satan deceive men in the last days?
"And deceiveth them that dwell on the earth by the means of those miracles which he had power to do in the sight of the beast." Rev. 13:14.
NOTE.-This, we understand, refers to Spiritualistic manifestations and miracles to be wrought to fasten men in error and deception.
28. What will influence the nations to gather for the great battle of Armageddon?
"They are the spirits of devils, working miracles, which go forth unto the kings of the earth and of the whole world, to gather them to the battle of that great day of God Almighty." Rev. 16:14.
29. Why will men be allowed thus to fall under the delusion of Satan?
"Because they received not the love of the truth, that they might be saved. And for this cause God shall send them strong delusion, that they should believe a lie: that they all might be damned who believed not the truth, but had pleasure in unrighteousness." 2 Thess. 2:10-12. See 1 Kings 22:20-23.
30. For how long is Satan to be bound at the second advent?
"And I saw an angel come down from heaven, having the key of the bottomless pit and a great chain in his hand. And he laid hold on the dragon, that old serpent, which is the Devil, and Satan, and bound him a thousand years." Rev. 20:1,2.
31. What is to take place at the close of the thousand years?
"And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison, and shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth, Gog and Magog, to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea." Verses 7,8.
NOTE.-Satan's evil career began in rebellion against God in heaven, and ends in rebellion against Him on earth.
32. As Satan and his host compass the camp of the saints, what will take place?
"And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them." Verse 9.
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33. What is to be Satan's final doom?
"I will bring thee to ashes upon the earth in the sight of all them that behold thee. All they that know thee among the people shall be astonished at thee: thou shalt be a terror, and never shalt thou be any more." Eze. 28:18,19.
NOTE.-A gladsome thought! Satan, sin, and sinners are finally to come to an end, and be no more. Then God will have a clean universe.
34. Why did Christ partake of our nature?
"Forasmuch then as the children are partakers of flesh and blood, He also Himself likewise took part of the same; that through death He might destroy him that had the power of death, that is, the devil." Heb. 2:14.
35. What exhortations are given to Christians in view of Satan's hatred against God and all that is good?
"Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil, as a roaring lion, walketh about, seeking whom he may devour: whom resist steadfast in the faith." 1 Peter 5:8,9. "Resist the devil, and he will flee from you." James 4:7.
36. With what weapon did Christ successfully meet Satan's temptations?
The Word of God. "It is written, . . . It is written, . . . It is written." Matt. 4:4-10.
NOTE.-The Word of God is the "sword of the Spirit." Eph. 6: 17. If Christ met and vanquished the enemy with this, so also may we. But no one can use it who is unfamiliar with it. How important, then, that we search, study, and know it! See first readings in this book, and reading on "Importance of Sound Doctrine."
GRACIOUS Father, guard Thy children
From the foe's destructive power;
Save, O save them, Lord, from falling
In this dark and trying hour!
Thou wilt surely prove Thy people,
All our graces must be tried;
But Thy Word illumes our pathway,
And in God we still confide.
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Congregationalist
Dr. R. W. Dale, The Ten Commandments (New York: Eaton &Mains), p. 127-129.
" . . . it is quite clear that however rigidly or devotedly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath - . . 'Me Sabbath was founded on a specific Divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday .... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday."
Timothy Dwight, Theology: Explained and Defended (1823), Ser. 107, vol. 3, p. 258.
" . . . the Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive Church called the Sabbath."
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Charles Spurgeon
Jesus did not come to change the law, but He came to explain it. (Mt 5:17-20) and that very fact shows that it remains, for there is no need to explain that which is abrogated. Assuredly there was no abrogation of law.
It was a wonderful exhibition of its’ far reaching sovereignty and of its searching character. Once more, that the Master did not come to alter the law is clear, because after having embodied it in His life He willingly gave Himself to bear its penalty, though He had never broken it, bearing the penalty for us, even as it is written, “ “Christ hath redeem us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us.”
6 All we like sheep have gone astray;
we have turned every one to his own way; and the Lord hath laid on him the iniquity of us all. (Isaiah 53:6 KJV). But because the law asked only what it ought to ask…namely perfect obedience and exacted of the transgressor only what it ought to exact, namely, death, as the penalty for sin, death under divine wrath, therefore the Saviour went to the tree, and there bore our sins, and purged them once for all. (Charles Spurgeon, Perpetuity of the Law of God. pp 4-7)
Dwight L. Moody: Now man may cavil as much as they like about other parts of the Bible, but I have never met an honest man that found fault with the Ten Commandments. Infidels may mock the Lawgiver and reject Him who has delivered us from the curse of the law, but they can’t help admitting that the commandments are right…they are for all nations and will remain the commandments of God through the centuries…The people must be made to understand that the TC are still binding, and that there is a penalty attached to their violation….Jesus never condemned the law and the prophets, but He did condemn those who did not obey them (See Mat 5:17-20) Dwight L. Moody, Weighed and Wanting pp 11,15,16
The Character of God and His Law……
God Law
Just…Rom 3:26 Rom 7:2; Eze 18:5
True….John 3:33 Neh 9:13
Pure….1 John 3:3 Ps 19:7,8
Light…1 John 1:5 Prov 6:23
Faithful….1 Cor 1:9 Ps 119:86
Good…Nahum 1:7 Rom 12:7, 16
Spiritual…1 Cor 10:1-4 Ro 7:14
Holy…..Is 6:3; 1 Pet 1:15 Rom 7:12
Truth…John 14:6 Ps 119:142, 151
Life….John 14:6 John 12:50; Mt 19:17
Righteousness…Jer 23:6 Ps 119:172
Perfect Deu 32:4; 2 Sam 22:31 Ps 19:7, James 1:26
Forever… John 8:35, Heb 13:8 Ps 111:8; Luke 16:17
Dr. Carl Bath quotes in his church dogmatics……”Where the Holy Day becomes a day of man, society and humanity wither away and the demons rule”…De Quervain
Todays' Sabbath school lesson: Wednesday.....September 6 Slaves of Christ
What does Paul require of Christian slaves in his detailed instructions to them? Eph. 6:5–8.
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Paul asks Christian slaves to obey their masters, offering heartfelt, excellent service. What is notable is his repeated reference to a grand substitution that he asks them to make. They are not to place their slave master in the place of Christ, offering to him the allegiance that belongs only to Christ. Rather, in the commitments and allegiance that motivate their heartfelt, excellent service, they are to substitute Christ, the Lord, for the slave master. In encouraging this essential substitution, Paul is offering a transformed, Christian understanding of the master-slave relationship.
Notice the several ways Paul presses this substitution upon them:
* Their slave masters are diminished by Paul as their “earthly mas- ters,” pointing toward the real and heavenly Master (Eph. 6:5, ESV;
emphasis added).
* They are to serve “with fear and trembling, with a sincere heart, as
you would Christ” (Eph. 6:5, ESV; emphasis added).
* Paul notes this substitution most clearly in arguing that Christian slaves are to offer genuine service as slaves, not of their masters,
but as “slaves of Christ” (Eph. 6:6, NIV).
* In performing their service, they are to do “the will of God from the
heart,” offering heartfelt service directed to God (Eph. 6:6, NIV). * Paul invites positively motivated service, offered “as to the Lord
and not to man” (Eph. 6:7, ESV).
For their heartfelt service, Christian slaves may expect full reward
from Christ when He returns. They have done their work for Him and may expect reward from Him, an especially attractive idea for those trapped in this horrific institution. A slave might feel unappreciated or worse by an earthly master (compare 1 Pet. 2:19, 20). The believing slave, though, has a Master who is attentive, noticing “whatever good thing each one does” (Eph. 6:8, NASB), and offering sure reward.
However much we might wish that Scripture had openly con- demned this horrible practice, it doesn’t. Nevertheless, what principles can we draw from Paul’s words in this context about how we relate to people we work with in our own context?Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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Rank: Advanced Member Joined: 1/17/2008 Posts: 9,491
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Good Morning. Today is the fifth workday of the week. Come sundown begins the preparation.
Section 11
Life Only In Christ
Chapter 110.
What is Man?
1. IN what condition was man created?
"Thou madest him a little lower than the angels." Ps. 8:5.
2. What will be the final condition of the righteous?
"Neither can they die any more: for they are equal unto the angels; and are the children of God, being the children of the resurrection." Luke 20:35,36.
3. What are angels called?
"And of the angels He saith, Who maketh His angels spirits, and His ministers a flame of fire." Heb. 1:7.
4. What is the difference between the two Adams?
"The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." 1 Cor. 15:45.
5. Are our present bodies natural or spiritual?
"Howbeit that was not first which is spiritual, but that which is natural; and afterward that which is spiritual." Verse 46.
6. When will the righteous have spiritual bodies?
"It is sown a natural body; it is raised a spiritual body. There is a natural body, and there is a spiritual body." Verse 44.
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7. To what does the sowing here spoken of refer?
"That which thou sowest is not quickened, except it die." Verse 36.
NOTE.-Man does not now possess the undying, spiritual nature of the angels, except as he holds it by faith in Christ; nor will he until the resurrection. Then, if righteous, he will be made immortal, and he cannot die any more (Luke 20:36), because he will be "equal unto the angels."
8. How is man's nature defined?
"Shall mortal man be more just than God?" Job 4:17. Mortal: "Subject to death."-Webster.
9. What is God's nature?
"Now unto the King eternal, immortal, invisible, the only wise God, be honor and glory forever and ever. Amen." 1 Tim. 1:17.
Immortal: "Exempt from liability to die."-Webster.
10. Of what was man formed in the beginning?
"And the Lord God formed man of the dust of the ground." Gen. 2:7, first part.
11. What act made him a living soul?
"And [God] breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul." Same verse, last part.
NOTES.-The living soul was not put into the man; but the breath of life which was put into man, made him- the man, made of the earth- a living soul, or creature.
The original for "living soul" in this text is nephesh chaiyah. On the use of this expression in Gen. 1:24, translated "living creature," Dr. Adam Clarke says: "A general term to express all creatures endued with animal life, in any of its infinitely varied gradations, from the half-reasoning elephant down to the stupid potto, or lower still, to the polyp, which seems equally to share the vegetable and animal life.
12. Are other creatures besides man called "living souls"?
"And the second angel poured out his vial upon the sea;
and it became as the blood of a dead man: and every living soul died in the sea." Rev. 16:3. See also Gen. 1:30, margin.
13. Do others besides man have the "breath of life"?
"And all flesh died that moved upon the earth, both of fowl, and of cattle, and of beast, and of every creeping thing that creepeth upon the earth, and every man: all in whose nostrils was the breath of life." Gen. 7:21,22.
14. Is their breath the same as man's?
"As the one dieth, so dieth the other; yea, they have all one breath; so that a man hath no preeminence above a beast: for all is vanity." Eccl. 3:19.
NOTE.-That is, here men, as well as beasts, die. This present life, with them, as with the rest of the animal creation, is dependent upon their breath. When this is gone, they, the same as beasts, die. In this respect they have no preeminence over beasts. But men have a future unending life held out before them, and may, if they will, die in hope of eternal life, which is a very great preeminence over the rest of the animal creation.
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15. What does Job call that which God breathed into man's nostrils?
"All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils." Job 27:3.
16. When man gives up this spirit, what becomes of it?
"Then shall the dust return to the earth as it was: and the spirit shall return unto God who gave it." Eccl. 12:7.
NOTE.-That is, the spirit of life by which man lives, and which is only lent him of God, at death goes back to the great Author of life. Having come from Him, it belongs to God, and man can have it eternally only as a gift from God, through Jesus Christ. Rom. 6:23. When the spirit goes back to God, the dust, from which man was made a "living soul" in the beginning, goes back as it was, to the earth, and the individual no longer exists as a living, conscious, thinking being, except as he exists in the mind, plan, and purpose of God through Christ and the resurrection. In this sense "all live unto Him" (Luke 20:38), for all are to be raised from the dead. See John 5:28,29; Acts 24:15; Rom. 4:17.
17. Who only have hold of the life eternal?
"He that hath the Son hath life; and he that hath not the Son of God hath not life." 1 John 5:12.
NOTE.-The veriest sinner has this temporal life; but when he yields up this life, he has no prospect nor promise of the life eternal, That can be received only through Christ.
18. Why was Adam driven from the garden of Eden and, excluded from the tree of life?
"And now, lest he put forth his hand, and take also of the tree of life, and eat, and live forever." Gen. 3:22.
19. What was done to keep man away from the tree of life?
"So He drove out the man; and He placed at the east of the garden of Eden cherubim, and a flaming sword which turned every way, to keep the way of the tree of life." Verse 24.
20. How are all men in the natural state regarded?
"We all . . . were by nature the children of wrath, even as others." Eph. 2:3.
21. If the wrath of God abides on a person, of what does it deprive him?
"He that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him." John 3:36.
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22. Through whom is the sinner saved from wrath?
"Much more then, being now justified by His blood, we shall be saved from wrath through Him." Rom. 5:9.
23. With whom is the Christian's future life hid?
"For ye are dead [to sin], and your life is hid with Christ in God." Col. 3:3.
24. When will this life be bestowed upon the believer?
"When Christ, who is our life, shall appear, then shall ye also appear with Him in glory." Verse 4.
NOTE.-The word immortal occurs but once in the English Bible (1 Tim. 1:17), and is there applied to God.
25. Who only possesses inherent immortality?
"Who is the blessed and only potentate, the King of kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality." 1 Tim. 6:15,16.
NOTE.-God is the only Being who possesses original life or immortality in Himself. All others must receive it from God. See John 5:26; 6:27; 10:10,27,28; Rom. 6:23; 1 John 5:11.
26. Through whom has immortality been brought to light?
"But is now made manifest by the appearing of our Saviour Jesus Christ, who hath abolished death, and hath brought life and immortality to light through the gospel." 2 Tim. 1:10.
27. To whom is eternal life promised?
"To them who by patient continuance in well-doing seek for glory and honor and immortality, eternal life." Rom. 2:7.
NOTE.-One does not need to seek for a thing which he already possesses. The fact that we are to seek for immortality is proof in itself that we do not now possess it.
28. When will the faithful be changed to immortality? "Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed." 1 Cor. 15:51,52.
29. What is then to be swallowed up?
"So when this corruptible shall have put on incorruption, and this mortal shall have put on immortality, then shall be brought to pass the saying that is written, Death is swallowed up in victory." Verse 54. See verse 57.
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Medieval Scholastic philosophers and theologians, such as Saint Thomas Aquinas and Saint Bonaventure, held that all the commandments are a part of the natural law and are therefore knowable to all thinking people. They maintained that God revealed the commandments to Moses to remind humankind of its obligations, easily forgotten because of original sin.
Actually, these scholars were echoing a similar idea expressed by early Fathers of the Church, such as Tertullian and Augustine, that the commandments had already been engraved on the human heart before they were written on the tablets of stone.
Parallels to the Decalogue are found in the laws of other ancient peoples. In Egyptian religion, for example, the observance of certain precepts (prohibitions against theft, murder, and injustice) was necessary for entrance into the shrine of Osiris, god and judge of the dead. Biblical scholars feel, however, that the Ten Commandments differ from the moral codes of other ancient religious systems in their explicit monotheism, their doctrine of God's awesome majesty and boundless goodness, and their extension of moral obligation to the most intimate and hidden desires of the human heart.
In the New Testament, all the commandments are mentioned but never in a list of ten.
Microsoft ® Encarta ® 2006. © 1993-2005 Microsoft Corporation. All rights reserved.
Have you any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?
A. Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her;—she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday the seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.
A Doctrinal Catechism by the Rev. Stephen Keenan, p. 174
“Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act,… (A quotation from a letter written in November, 1895, by Mr. H. F. Thomas, chancellor to Carkinal Gibbons, replying to an inquiry as to whether the Catholic Church claims to have changed the Sabbath.)
WHO CHANGED THE
SABBATH SATURDAY TO SUNDAY?
Roman Catholic: No such law in the Bible "Nowhere in the bible do we find that Jesus or the apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath day, that is, the Seventh day of the week, Saturday. Today, all Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the [Roman] church outside the Bible." Catholic Virginian, Oct. 3, 1947
"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 sanctified." James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith of Our Fathers (1917 ed.), pp.72,73
"If protestants would follow the Bible, they should worship God on the Sabbath Day, that is Saturday. In keeping Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church." Albert Smith, chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the cardinal in a letter of Feb. 10, 1920.
"Have you not any other way of proving that the Church has power to institute festivals of precept?"
"Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her, she could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday, the Seventh day, a change for which there is no Scriptural authority" Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism 3rd ed. p. 174
How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays?
By the very act of changing the Sabbath into Sunday, which Protestants allow of; and therefore they fondly contradict themselves, by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church." Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p.58 (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris [1916 ed.], p.67)
Todays' Sabbath School lesson: Thursday.....September 7
Masters Who Are Slaves
In Paul’s final words to slaves, “whether he is a slave or free” (Eph. 6:8, NKJV), the word “free” refers to slave masters, allowing Paul to transition to his counsel to them while imagining slaves and slave masters standing on an equal footing before Christ in the judgment (compare 2 Cor. 5:10; Col. 3:24, 25).
Assuming that you are a Christian slave master who is listening to Ephesians being read out in your house church, how might you react to this counsel, offered in the presence of your slaves? Eph. 6:9.
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Paul addresses masters, slave masters, in a pointed exhortation, which turns on the sharp contrast between “the lords” (Greek, hoi kurioi, translated as “masters”), who had a habit of “threatening” their slaves, and “the Lord” (ho kurios), Christ, with whom there is “no partiality” (ESV).
Paul asks masters to “do the same to them” (ESV), the slaves, which would have been shocking to a first-century slave owner. Masters should respond to their slaves with deeds of goodwill governed by their allegiance to Christ, corresponding to what Paul has just asked of slaves (Eph. 6:5–8). He tells them to stop threatening their slaves, a common practice of a time in which masters administered a wide variety of punishments, including beating (1 Pet. 2:20), sexual abuse, being sold (and parted from loved ones), extreme labor, starvation, shackles, branding, and even death. For this, they will be judged—by God.
Paul supports his commands with two motivations that call slave masters to look beyond the social structures of the Greco-Roman world: (1) they and their presumed slaves are co-slaves of a single Master (“knowing that he who is both their Master and yours is in heaven,” ESV; compare Col. 4:1); and (2) the heavenly Master judges all without partiality. Since their own Master treats those regarded as slaves on an equal footing with others, so should they (compare Philem. 15, 16).
Much of Paul’s language in Ephesians would be especially hearten- ing for Christian slaves: adoption as sons (Eph. 1:5); redemption (Eph. 1:7); inheritance (Eph. 1:11, 14; Eph. 3:6); being enthroned with Jesus (Eph. 2:6); becoming “fellow citizens,” “members of the household of God” (Eph. 2:19, ESV; compare Eph. 3:14, 15), and integral parts of the body of Christ (see Eph. 3:6, Eph. 4:1–16). Ephesians 6:5–9 activates all the teaching in the letter as operative in the relationships between slaves and slave masters, including the counsel about speech (Eph. 4:25–32) and sexual ethics (Eph. 5:1–14).Many wonder today why the Republican party does nothing to defeat the treasonous
schemes of the Democrats. It is because the pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly
infiltrated the Republican party as well as the Democratic party. Many wonder why
the news media lie so much to support and protect the Democrats. It is because the
pope’s Jesuits have thoroughly infiltrated the news media. The news media and
schools and colleges, with their lies and propaganda, have so conditioned the
people of the country that they are unable to recognize what has been done to them.
Victory for the Jesuits seems very near. The Jesuits are like a cancer that has
pervaded nearly every fiber of the society of the United States. We are being
defeated by the enemy within.
For many years the Jesuits have prevented the United States from developing
additional sources of energy within its own territory. Exploiting the vast oilfields on
the Alaskan north slope, that probably contain more oil than the entire middle east,
is forbidden. New nuclear power plants, the safest source of electric energy ever
discovered, are not permitted. There is no end to the lies people have been made to
believe about Nuclear energy. The environment is used as the club to subdue the
people of the country into going along with this idiocy. Modern technology is able to
develop these sources of power without any damage to the environment. France
gets 80% of its power from nuclear power plants without any problems. Needless to
say, without sufficient energy, the United States will not be able to defend itself. All
the papacy has to do is cut off the oil supply from the middle east.
The United States is now starting to feel the pinch of the energy shortage the Jesuits
have created. People have experienced blackouts over large areas as power is shut
off to stay within the limits of generating capacity. Today, instead of constructing
additional nuclear power plants, some of these plants are being dismantled! Will the
people of the United States be able to wake up in time to prevent the coming
national tragedy?
Not only in the United States is this treachery being perpetrated by the papacy, but
they are secretly at work all over the world to subvert all the nations of the world.
"And all the world wondered after the beast." Rev 13:3 last part.
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