Holy Sabbath #6

This is Holy Sabbath, number six. And in this one we are going to go to every place in the New Testament where it says concerning the first day of the week; and we’re going to look at it, we’re going to analyze it, we’re going to understand what it’s really saying. Now let’s understand something very important: that this Bible is the Word of God. And it is the truth. And we saw how the commandments of God are truth, and His Word is truth. So now what we need to do is go ahead and review just a little bit here. Let’s go back and we’ll pick it up here in Genesis 2, and see where the Sabbath began.

Now here in Genesis 2, let’s begin in verse 1. One of the first things that God wanted us to know concerning Him is that we would be able to fellowship with Him on the Sabbath. So the first thing He did after creating Adam and Eve was to create the Sabbath. Now let’s begin in verse 1. “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day [Now, it should read, ‘sixth 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. 2:1-2). Now God, being God, doesn’t need to rest. He doesn’t get tired. So why did He do this? He did this to set us a personal example. And to also show Adam and Eve that on the seventh day they were to rest, worship God, fellowship with Him, and so forth.

Now let’s notice something special about this seventh day which God did not do on any of the other days. God never blessed the first day, the second day, the third day, the fourth day, the fifth day, or the sixth day. But let’s read here in verse 3: “And God blessed the seventh day,…” So that means there’s a particular blessing on this day. Every time the seventh day comes to mankind, wherever he is on the earth, it is a blessed day, because God has blessed it. Now notice, “…and sanctified it:…” “Sanctified” is a very important word. “Sanctified” means to be set aside for a holy use or purpose. So this day is to be used for the holy purpose of worshipping God, fellowshipping with Him, studying His Word, being with His people, fellowshipping with each other, loving each other, loving God, caring for one another, talking about God, and all of these things are all involved on this day, because it’s sanctified; therefore, that means it is holy. Or you could put it another way – to sanctify it, He made it holy by setting it aside.

“…Because [so here’s the reason] that in it He had rested from all His work which God created and made.” So if God rested to set us an example, God created the day, God blessed the day, God sanctified the day, God made it for the special particular use, then we have to also understand that man cannot change that. Man can’t make something Holy because Man is not Holy. Only God is Holy. So only He can establish what things are. And that’s what He did here. He blessed the seventh day, and from creation all the way down to this time, every seventh day is a holy convocation unto God.

Now, because God has given us choice and set before us life and death, good and evil, therefore, people can choose to ignore the Sabbath. Or break the Sabbath. Or claim that God transferred everything from the seventh day to the first day. Now we’re going to see that isn’t true. But let’s just examine another couple of the verses that we have covered here. Let’s come to Exodus 20. Now, there are some people who say, “Well, God didn’t give the Sabbath until it came time for Israel.” Not so. God gave it to Adam and Eve, and carried right on down through to the time of Israel. And when God came down on Mt. Sinai and personally spoke the Ten Commandments to them, the fourth commandment is the Sabbath.

Now let’s understand something very important concerning that also: the Catholics have removed the second commandment from the ten in their shortened version of it. But even if you would get a Catholic Douay version of the Bible, and you would go read Exodus 20, it would tell you the second commandment here concerning making idols and so forth. So let’s begin in here Exodus 20, and let’s begin in verse 1.

Now let’s begin right in verse 1, Exodus 20, and we’ll come down to the fourth commandment concerning the Sabbath. These first four apply to God – man’s relationship to God. That’s very important. Then the second six apply to man’s relationship to other men. And Jesus said that the primary commandment was to love God with all your heart, with all your mind, with all your soul, with all you being, and to love your neighbor as yourself; and on these two commandments hang all the law and the prophets. So the love of God is what has given the commandments. The love of God is not separate from the commandments of God. 1 John 5:3 (paraphrased) says, “And this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments, and His commandments are not burdensome.” So the Sabbath was never a burden. God never gave it as a curse to the Jews. God never made it something that was inconvenient for man to do. God never gave a command that men could not do. But men don’t want to do them.

So let’s begin right here in verse 1. “And God spake all these words, saying, I am the LORD thy God [no other god – just He], which have brought thee out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. Thou shalt have no other gods before Me” (Ex. 20:1-3). Now that’s very important. Because first of all, God shows: one, He brought you out of Egypt. And today we are living in spiritual Egypt. Number two, He is the God Who brought us out of sin; because Egypt is sin, and sin is the transgression of the commandments of God. So it all fits together.

“You shall have no other gods before Me.” Now let’s understand something very profound, as we covered last time; how we showed that when the children of Israel were cast out of the land and exiled because of their sins, what they were doing, they were worshipping Baal and Ashtoreth, which was Sunday worship. No doubt about it. Baal was the sun god. And Sunday is dedicated to the sun, as we will see. Has nothing to do with the Sabbath. So anybody who is keeping Sunday has another god before the true God. So they’re breaking the first commandment.

Now let’s read the second commandment. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness…” Now, they’re not even to make them. See, God is very specific. Now, in the church that you go to, do they have idols? Do they have statues? Do they have crosses, crucifixes, pictures of saints, gargoyles, steeples? Those are all images. God said don’t even make them. And yet they justify it by saying, “Well, we don’t worship these idols, but we worship what it represents.” God is never represented with an idol. Did you know that? Now here’s something very profound you need to always understand, which is this: the true God can never be worshipped with a lie. Now you think on that. The true God can never be worshiped with a lie. “Thou shalt not make unto thee any graven image, or any likeness of any thing that is in heaven above [so that means angels], or that is in the earth beneath [any man, any animal, any beast of any kind], or that is in the water under the earth [no fish]: thou shalt not bow down thyself to them,…” (vs. 4-5). So there are two parts to this: don’t make them; number two, don’t bow yourself down to them.

“…Nor serve them: for I the LORD thy God am a jealous God, visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children unto the third and fourth generation of them that hate Me;…” And people are going to say, “Well there’s that harsh God.” Well now, just stop and look a minute, now. What I suggest you do is this: instead of saying, “God is harsh,” say, “God is true,” and that sin is the transgression of law. And wherever people are transgressing the law, there are penalties for transgressing the laws and commandments of God. So why don’t you do this: why don’t you write down the Ten Commandments, and you began analyzing the various peoples and countries of the world, and ask the questions: which commandments do they not keep? Which commandments do they do keep? And I think you will be surprised. Those who are breaking most of the commandments are the most wretched people on the face of the earth. And that’s just the way that it is, because God is true.

Now people don’t want to take that part of the second commandment and apply it as a truth from God. But they sure love verse 6. Now let’s read verse 6, because everyone wants this. But you can’t get this unless you do what God says. Verse 6, “And shewing mercy unto thousands of them [notice] that love Me, and keep My commandments.” And that’s exactly what Jesus said. John 14:15, Jesus said, “If you love Me, keep My commandments.” Question is, do you love God? Do you love Christ? And if you do, should you not be keeping His commandments? Let’s turn it around the other way. All those who do not keep the commandments of God hate God, and hate the Word of God, and despise the correction that is there, despise the truth that is there. And you might also run a little experiment on that and try it too.

I remember one time we were talking about when they had the shooting over at Columbine. And at that particular time I was doing some water exercise and there were some other people in there exercising. And we were all talking about the thing that happened at the shooting at Columbine, and what a terrible thing it was. And everyone is trying to come up with an excuse as to why it happened. And I just said very plainly, “Well the reason is, is that people have forgotten God.” Just a simple little statement that could have even been written in a newspaper, and within five minutes I was alone in the pool. Why? Because people don’t want to hear the name of God. They don’t want to hear the truth. They don’t want to do things God’s way. Because God’s Word is sharper than a two-edged sword, and cuts asunder, dividing even the soul and spirit and the joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and the intents of the heart. And so there I was alone, finishing my exercise because the people... Now they were good, sincere, people as far as the world is concerned, but goodness and sincerity in the world does not equal righteousness before God. Loving God and keeping His commandments equals righteousness before God.

Now let’s come here to verse 7, commandment three. “Thou shalt not take the name of the LORD thy God in vain; for the LORD will not hold him guiltless that taketh His name in vain.” What is the worst way of taking the name of God in vain? Is it swearing? Cursing? What is the worst way? The worst way is for a man to stand up and say, that in the name of God you are given license to break His commandments. In the name of God you don’t have to obey anything in the Old Testament. That is taking God’s name in vain in the worst sort of way, because it is a perverted faith to lead people astray and lead them from God to Satan the devil. Now you need to stop and think about it. If truth is truth - which it is - and the Word of God is truth - which it is - then you better start thinking about, if you are keeping Sunday, what are you going to do? Are you going to continue taking the name of God in vain? Are you going to continue breaking the Sabbath every week?

Now let’s read the fourth commandment. And we will see that if you are not keeping the fourth commandment you are breaking all of the first three in addition; and if you are not keeping the fourth commandment as a society, then all of the other six commandments are also violated in great ways. Now let’s read the fourth commandment here. “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” Now let’s see why we are to remember it. Let’s see God’s instructions. “Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:…” Why? Because God labored for six days and did all of His work, didn’t He? So you likewise are to do the same. “…But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God:…” (vs. 8-10). Now let’s notice something here very important. It didn’t say, “Now folks, I know that you need to rest one day in seven.” And I have yet to find anybody who says that, that the principle of this commandment is one day in seven. I have yet to find anyone who says that, that really keeps one day in seven. They don’t. They may go to church on Sunday, but the rest of the day they do whatever they want to do. You think about it.

God said the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. That means He owns it, He created it, He is Master, He is Boss, He is Ruler, He is Lord. “…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:…” Now why did God give this commandment? Why is it so important? Now notice verse 11, “…For [that means for the reason that] in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore [that is, for this reason, of the fact of creation within the six days as we find in Genesis 1] the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it” (vs. 10-11).

Now that’s so profound for us to know and to understand and to realize. So I want to go back and review this so that we have it set in our minds how important that this is to God, and how important than it needs to become to you. Now let’s come to Exodus 31, and let’s review again the chapter here in Exodus 31 about the Sabbath being a perpetual covenant. Now let’s understand something concerning covenants. Once a covenant is made it is in operation until all the conditions of the covenant have been fulfilled. Then when the man who made the covenant dies, the covenant is over. Now a lot of people claim, “Well, God gave the Sabbath to the Jews.” He didn’t give it to the Jews, He gave it to the children of Israel, who are composed of twelve tribes and the Jews are only one tribe. He gave it to the children of Israel - all of them. We just read it here in Exodus 20. Now He comes back in Exodus 31 and He makes it another covenant concerning the Sabbath which goes on into perpetuity.

Now let’s notice Exodus 31:12. “And the LORD spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel,...” So this is the voice of God. And as we saw last time, the reason that the children of Israel and the Jews were carried off into captivity is because they didn’t obey the voice of God. They didn’t hearken unto His voice. “…Saying, Verily [or that is, truly, or indeed], My sabbaths…” I want to emphasize that again: “My Sabbaths.” Now let’s understand something about this. It is plural – Sabbaths. Because not only is there the seventh day Sabbath that we are to keep, there are the annual holy days of God which are annual Sabbaths, and they are also to be kept. Now a lot of people get real zealous for the Sabbath, and they look up in the phone book and they look for a church that keeps the Sabbath, like the Seventh-Day Adventists or the Seventh-Day Baptists, and they immediately run down there and start going to church, not knowing that those churches do not keep the holy days; not knowing that those churches also have other false doctrines. So it’s not just a matter of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is only a start so you can be in contact with God. It’s a matter of a whole way of living. It’s a matter of your whole standing before God.

“…Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep:…” Now that is about as dogmatic as you can get. “…Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep:…” Are you keeping the Sabbaths of God? Plural - the holy days as well as the weekly Sabbath? Let’s continue. “…For it is a sign [the ‘it’ means the keeping of the Sabbaths is a sign] between Me and you throughout your generations;…” (vs. 13). Do you have the sign of God upon your heart and mind? Or do you have your own works, your own way, your own religion? You see, it’s either one or the other. And people say, “Well, I don’t have a religion.” Well the truth is, that’s their religion, that they don’t have one. And those who have a religion, have a religion and they reject the way of God. Because God’s way is a way to walk in and live in. Now if you don’t have the tapes “Why God Hates Religion,” we have five tapes on that - why does God hate religion? And that will open your eyes to understand so much profound understanding of God’s Word, and how you need to live your life, that it will really be an eye-opener for you. So if you don’t have those, write in for them, or just click down on our website and go ahead and draw those sermons down from there. They’ll be there and available.

Now let’s continue on. Now notice, here’s the reason why: “…That ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you” (vs. 13). Now do you know that it is God that sanctifies you? It is not a church, it is not a minister, it is not an organization. But if you’re going to worship God and received His Holy Spirit, He is the one Who sanctifies you. Now hold your place here in Exodus 31, and let’s go clear to the New Testament, almost all the way to the book of Revelation, and let’s come to the book of 1 John. And here is a very profound section of verses. Now we’re talking about knowing God, and we’re talking about that the reason that we keep the Sabbaths of God - plural, Sabbath and holy days; and I will bring a full sermon on the holy days here pretty soon - is so that we may know Him. Now notice what John wrote. Now I want you to understand how thoroughly the New Testament and Old Testament agree, because it’s really one book. And Christ never came, as we saw, to do away with the law and the prophets. He never came to do away with the commandments of God.

Now let’s pick it up here in 1 John 2:3. “And hereby [which means, in this way] we do know that we know Him, if we keep His commandments.” And part of knowing God, and the most important part, is keeping the Sabbath and the holy days. Because if you keep those you will, number one, have the right God; number two, you won’t have any images; number three, you won’t be taking the name of God in vain; number four, you’ll be keeping the Sabbath; number five, you’ll be keeping the holy days. And that means that all the rest of the commandments will fall in line. Now, “…hereby we do know that we know Him.” So it’s something that we need to know that we know. It’s not just something that you’re acquainted with, or like Job, when he finally came to repentance he says that, “I have heard of You with a hearing of the ear, but now my eye sees You” (Job 42:5, paraphrased). So he didn’t know that he knew God until after he went through his great trial. Then he knew that he knew God. Do you know that you know God? And know that you know that you know?

Now here’s another little test. Verse 4, let’s read it: “He that saith [or that means, the one who says], I know Him, and keepeth not [is not keeping] His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him.” Now we need to understand something profound, which is this: all Sunday-keeping leads to sin and lies. And they don’t know God. Because God says back here in Exodus 31 - let’s come back here now in verse 13 - that the only way you’re going to know Him is to keep His Sabbaths. John says keep His commandments, and you know that you know Him. So that’s a very profound.

Now back to Exodus 31:14, “Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore; for it is holy unto you: every one that defileth it shalt surely be put to death:…” And what is the wages of sin in the New Testament? Death. “…For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.” Now to be cut off from God is a very profound thing. That means you have no blessings from God. That means you have no protection from God. That means that you don’t know God. That means you’re just turned over to your own carnal devices. Is that what you want? Well if that’s what you want, then continue to keep Sunday. If you want the blessings of God then you better do what God says.

Verse 15, “Six days may work be done; but in the seventh [day] is the sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD:…” And we’re going to see here in a little bit that God never changes. “…Whosoever doeth any work in the sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant” (vs. 15-16). Meaning that this covenant with the children of Israel has no end. Even the death of Christ could not end this perpetual covenant. And that ties right back in to “Verily My sabbaths ye shall keep…” in verse 13, which means then Sabbath-keeping and holy day-keeping is a perpetual, ongoing covenant with God continuously throughout all history of mankind. Now let’s understand something else here. The church, that is, all of those individuals who have the Holy Spirit of God - and the church is something as God sees it, not something for what men proclaim it to be - and the church will be keeping the commandments of God, will be keeping the Sabbaths of God, will be loving God and loving each other and loving their neighbor as themselves. So you have to look to the fruits to know where the church is. But the church is spiritual Israel. So all of these things carry right down to the church. Now we’re going to see that in just a little bit here.

Let’s come to the New Testament now. For all of those of you who are saying, “Well you’re just sticking in the Old Testament,” let’s go ahead and go to the New Testament and see what Jesus said. Now let’s see what Jesus said here in Mark 2:27. Now if you believe that Jesus is the Lord, if you believe that Jesus is your Savior, if you believe that Jesus is the Christ, if you are professing to follow Jesus Christ, which day did Jesus say that He was Lord of? Let’s read it. “And He said unto them, The sabbath was made for man,…” And the Greek means, “on account of man.” In other words, if man were not created there would be no need for the Sabbath. You understand that? By the very fact of the creation of man, God created the Sabbath for that special day to fellowship and worship Him.

Was made on account of man, “…and not man for the sabbath:…” Now what does that mean? That means that man has no jurisdiction over the commandment of Sabbath-keeping whatsoever, to change the day, to change the meaning - only God can make any change to what ever commandment He decides, and He will let it be known in His Word that it was changed. Like He did in Matthew 5, 6, and 7, where He said, “You have heard it said in old time, ‘You shall not commit adultery…’” He says, “But I say to you, whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her in his heart has already committed adultery with her in his heart” (Matthew 5:27-28, paraphrased). And whenever there is a change, please understand this: in the New Testament all the commandments become all that much more binding, and all of that much more spiritual. So if the Sabbath was made on account of man, or for man, and God gave it to Israel for a perpetual covenant, and the New Testament church is spiritual Israel, the Sabbath and holy days must be kept by the Church of God. No question about it, if you are going to believe the Word of God.

Now notice verse 28. And this becomes very important for us to realize. “Therefore [that is, because of the fact that the Sabbath was created for man, and not man for the Sabbath, therefore consequently], the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath [day].” Which day is the Lord’s Day? The seventh day Sabbath is the Lord’s day, no other day is the Lord’s Day whatsoever. Now this shows us how we need to really read and understand the Scriptures. See, not only do you need to read them, you need to believe them. And you need to live by them. Do you believe this scripture right here which says, “Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath day”? Do you believe that? If you do you cannot believe that the Lord’s Day is Sunday. Because Jesus declared the Lord’s day is the Sabbath. That’s His day.

Now I don’t care how many churches are out there keeping Sunday. I don’t care all of the good works that they do. I don’t care about any of those things, those do not count. Because we’re going to see - and I’ll read you some more accounts - how they know that they are breaking the Sabbath and keeping Sunday and they have turned their backs on God. Do you want to continue to turn your back on God, or are you going to return to God through repentance? And come back to God, repent of your Sunday keeping? Repent of your idolatry, repent of taking God’s name in vain, repent of breaking the Sabbath and the holy days? Then you need to be baptized, receive the Holy Spirit, and then you’re just ready to start. All of the rest up to that point is only so much information. But unless it’s heart convicting, unless you believe with all your heart, then it isn’t going to do any good. Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath day, and the Lord’s Day is not Sunday. And that is a scriptural, New Testament fact.

Now let’s look at a couple of other scriptures here. Let’s come to the book of Hebrews 13. Let’s understand something concerning Jesus Christ. Would He change it right after that? Well, some people claim because He was resurrected, that changes it from Saturday to Sunday. But the truth of the matter is Jesus was resurrected right at the end of the Sabbath, not on the first day of the week. That’s another whole different subject which we’ll cover later. Hebrews 13:8, “Jesus Christ the same yesterday [when He was Lord God of the Old Testament, the Word of God], and to day [that is, during the time that the apostle Paul was writing], and forever.” Now let’s understand something…God is truth, His commandments are truth, His laws are truth, His statutes are truth; therefore, we can also say, because these things reflect the mind of God, the Sabbath is the same yesterday, today, and forever. The holy days are the same yesterday, today, and for ever. The first commandment is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the second commandment is the same yesterday, today, and forever; the third commandment, the fourth commandment, the fifth, sixth, seventh, eighth, ninth, tenth, all the commandments of God are the same yesterday, today, and forever. Now you need to think on that. You need to realize it because you just can’t come to God and say, “Oh Lord, how good I am,” and throw away the commandments of God and do like Job did. Let’s go back here to Job 40, and we’ll review this, and then we will get into all the eight places where the first day of the week is mentioned in the New Testament and we will see, does that constitute Sabbath keeping?

Now Job 40:8. Here’s what God told Job. Because Job was so, he was contending with God. He said, “Oh that God would come down and talk to me!” So God did. And his attitude totally changed. God said to Job here, verse 6, “Then answered the LORD unto Job out of the whirlwind, and said, Gird up thy loins now like a man:…” Are you willing to do that? Are you willing to listen to the Word of God and gird up your loins like a man or a woman and understand that God means what He says? “…I will demand of thee, and declare thou unto Me. Wilt thou also disannul My judgment?...” That’s what people do when they say, “Well, God didn’t mean for the Sabbath for us today.” Yet He said it’s a perpetual covenant. “Well, it was changed and went to Sunday.” Is that not disannulling God’s judgment? Was it not God’s judgment to make and create the Sabbath for mankind? Yes it was.

“…Wilt thou condemn Me, that thou mayest be righteous?” God said to Job (vs. 6-8). Now understand that Job was one of the most righteous men in the letter of the law that ever could have been. But he condemned God so that he could be righteous. Do not all of the preachers stand in the pulpit on Sunday when they discuss Sunday-Sabbath, and do they not condemn God and say that “He gave the Sabbath for a curse for the Jews, and we have Sunday, which is our holy day”? Do you think that God honors that? I tell you no. No more than God honored Job in the things that he did. And that’s exactly what they’re doing. They are disannulling the judgment of God that they may be righteous in their own eyes.

Now let’s go to Malachi 3, and let’s understand something that is very important. Now Malachi is the last book of the Old Testament as you come to the book of Matthew in the New Testament in the King James version. Now let’s come to Malachi 3:6. “For I am the LORD,…” God is the Eternal, God is self-existent, He alone is the Lord. He alone is God. Now notice, “…I change not;…” So if Jesus Christ is the same yesterday, today, and forever, and the Sabbath and holy days are be to be perpetually kept, and God says, “I change not,” what right do the ministers have to come and say and stand in the pulpit on Sunday and say, “We are delivered to do these things - God has changed it”? Well as we saw, God didn’t change it. There were two main instrumentalities to change it: one, Constantine; two, the Roman Catholic Church.

Now the Protestants failed to finish the Reformation. They got right up to the point where they should have embraced the Sabbath, and they stopped. And Protestantism has stayed almost steady from that day forward. They stopped. So what they tried to do was then cover their tracks. They said, “Well, the New Testament shows that we do these things on the first day of the week.” Now is that true? “Well, Jesus was resurrected on Sunday, so therefore, we worship on Sunday.” Now we’re going to look at that verse in just a little bit here. And we’re going to ask the question, did Jesus then say, “Ok, now you don’t have to keep that Sabbath any longer. You can do it on Sunday”? We will see that He never, ever said such a thing at all in any way. And if you believe He did then you believe lying preachers over the truth of God.

Now let’s continue on and go to Matthew 28. And this is the first place where it talks about the first day of the week. So let’s go there, Matthew 28, and let’s look at it beginning in verse 1. You know, sometimes we read the words but we don’t really understand what it says. And we don’t understand that these were the disciples of Jesus Christ - the apostles, the followers, the women who followed Him we’re dealing with here in Matthew 28. Now let’s read it. “In the end of the sabbath, as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.” Now why did they wait until the end of the Sabbath? Notice it says, “…in the end of the sabbath...” That means the Sabbath day was over. So apparently from this it means right at sunset they went out there to look at the tomb. And apparently they went on back, went to bed. When they got there in the morning, we’ll see a little later here. Now there’s some controversy whether this is as it was dawning on the first day of the week, or whether this was the darkening of the time at the end of the Sabbath. Sufficient to say, that at the end of the Sabbath, they waited for the Sabbath to be over.

Now let’s notice what they did. They went to the sepulcher. They didn’t go to a Sunday church meeting, did they? They went to the tomb where Jesus was buried. And verse 2, “And, behold, there was a great earthquake: for the angel of the Lord descended from heaven, and came and rolled back the stone from the door, and sat upon it. His countenance was like lightning, and his raiment white as snow:…” Now did the angel say, “I have a special message from God: you can keep Sunday now. You’re out here Sunday morning, and we’re now going to call this ‘Easter’ from now on.” It doesn’t say that, does it? A lot of people assume it, don’t they? “And for fear of him the keepers did shake [that is, those who were guarding it], and became as dead men. And the angel answered and said unto the women, Fear not ye: for I know that ye seek Jesus, which was crucified. He is not here:…” (Matt. 28:1-6). That means He was already resurrected before they...

Part 2

…Before they got there. Now let’s understand something very profound: no one saw Jesus raised from the dead. When Jesus was raised from the dead, He didn’t need the stone rolled back to get out, because as we will see later on, as a spirit being He could walk through walls. He could walk through stone. So why did the angel roll back the stone? So the apostles, and disciples, and the women could see that He wasn’t there. So He was raised some time before the first day of the week. And when you really understand the calendar, and you understand the chronology, and you understand that Jesus is our Passover, Who was sacrificed for us, and He was crucified on the Passover day, which was in the middle of the week in the year of His crucifixion, and He was going to be three days and three nights in the grave, and He was put in there just before the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread began, He had to be raised right at the end of the Sabbath.

Now, being raised right at the end of the Sabbath, being a spirit being, He could walk right out of the tomb. When the angel opened it up for them to see, he said, “He is not here: for He is risen, as He said. Come, and see the place where the Lord lay. And go quickly, and tell His disciples that He is risen from the dead;...” (vs. 6-7). Now is there anything here to do with Sunday-keeping? Let’s ask some questions. We already saw what was taking place. We answered that question. They were doing secular work, weren’t they? Was there a worship service? No. Did they keep the Sabbath holy and then go out? Yes. Was there evidence of a change? No evidence of a change. The apostles didn’t command a change, the angel didn’t command a change, Jesus didn’t command a change. Was there any council out here that sat out there and said, “Well, now and we’re taking a council, and we’re going to do it on the first day of the week”? Nope. Was there a precedent that was set? No. Ordinary activity to go out and see the tomb. They didn’t even understand that Jesus was going to be raised from the dead.

Now let’s come to the account in Mark 16 and let’s read it there. Now let’s follow along here back in Mark 15, and let’s pick it up in verse 44. Now if you want a chronology of the last ten days of Jesus’ life, you can write in for that. We have a series of tapes that go through it, and goes through the three days and three nights very carefully. Now verse 44, “And Pilate marvelled [that is, that Jesus was dead] if He were already dead: and calling unto him the centurion, he asked him whether He had been any while dead. And when he knew it of the centurion, he gave the body to Joseph. And he bought fine linen, and took Him down, and wrapped Him in the linen, and laid Him in a sepulcher which was hewn out of a rock, and rolled a stone unto the door of the sepulcher. And Mary Magdalene and Mary the mother of Joses beheld where He was laid” (Mark 15:44-47). So they saw Him laid in there, saw it closed.

Now, “And when the sabbath was passed...” (Mark 16:1). Now we need to understand something concerning this Sabbath. It’s very important. Because this is not a weekly Sabbath that it’s talking about here, because in that week that Jesus was crucified there was the Passover on a Wednesday, the first holy day of Unleavened Bread on a Thursday, Friday was the preparation for the weekly Sabbath, and then there was the weekly Sabbath. So there were two sabbaths during that time.

“And when the sabbath was passed, Mary Magdalene, and Mary the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him.” Now if this were Saturday night, there weren’t any stores open Saturday night. So this is when the Sabbath had passed, and now we’re dealing with Friday in the daytime. They bought the spices that they might come and anoint Him. Now notice what happened when they got there on the first day of the week. “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher?” Because there were going to go in and anoint Jesus’ body. “And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great. And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. And he saith unto them, Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: He is risen; He is not here: behold the place where they laid Him. But go your way, tell His disciples and Peter that He goeth before you into Galilee: there shall ye see Him, as He said unto you. And they went out quickly, and fled from the sepulcher; for they trembled and were amazed: neither said they any thing to any man; for they were afraid” (Mark 16:1-8).

Now here’s a key verse, verse 9, another one for the first day of the week. But let’s finish this first section here that we just covered. Again, let’s ask the question: what was taking place? They were going out to do a secular activity, were they not? Had the holy solemnity of Sabbath been transferred to Sunday? No. They were going to go out there and work and anoint the body of Jesus. Was there a worship service? No. Was it kept holy like the Sabbath? No. Was there evidence of a change? No. Did the angel say anything to them about a change? No. So you can’t prove that there was any transfer from the Sabbath day to the first day of the week by this verse. What it really proves is that the Sabbath was binding. And His disciples, who believed in Him, kept it. Just like today. If you believe in Christ you will keep His Sabbath because He is Lord of it.

Now verse 9. Now here’s the way it should read: “Now [after] Jesus was risen[,]...” Now in the Greek this is an aorist participle, meaning that it is after a punctilious point in the past, was when He was risen. “Now [after] Jesus was risen[,] early the first day of the week, He appeared first to Mary Magdalene...” So what we have here in the editing of the King James Version of the Bible, what you really have is a misplaced comma. Because they wanted to make it appear that Jesus was resurrected on the first day of the week. No evidence of that whatsoever. None at all. So early the first day of the week He appeared to Mary Magdalene. That means He was already resurrected, already alive from the dead. “...Out of whom He had cast seven devils [demons].” So we find no sanctification of Sunday.

All right, let’s look at the fourth one. We’ve covered three already: Matthew 28:1, Mark 16:2, and Mark 16:9. Now let’s come to Luke 24, and let’s pick it up beginning here in verse 1 and see the account here. “Now upon the first day of the week...” No, let’s back up to chapter 23. Remember that they bought the spices after the Sabbath, as we saw there in Mark 16:1. Now Luke 23:56, “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the sabbath day according to the commandment.” Well, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread is a holy Sabbath, as we will see here in just a minute. They did not go back and work on that holy Sabbath day, which was an annual Sabbath, and prepare the spices. They bought the spices on Friday, they came and they prepared the spices, and then they rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment - meaning that they rested the regular Sabbath day. So now we come out on the first day of the week. What is it that they kept? Did they keep the first day of the week, or did they keep the Sabbath? Well it says that they rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment. Meaning that they kept the holy day Sabbath commandment, “remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy.” No evidence of a change. Quite the contrary. What we see is an enforcement and a willing observance of the seventh day Sabbath, don’t we?

Now Luke 24: 1. “Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulcher, bringing the spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them. And they found the stone rolled away from the sepulcher. And they entered in, and found not the body of the Lord Jesus. And it came to pass, as they were much perplexed thereabout, behold, two men stood by them in shining garments:…” So now we find that not only was there one angel, but there was another one too. “And as they were afraid, and bowed down their faces to the earth, they [the angels] said unto them, Why seek ye the living among the dead? He is not here, but is [has] risen: remember how He spake unto you when He was yet in Galilee, saying, The Son of man must be delivered into the hands of sinful men, and be crucified, and the third day rise again” (vs. 1-7). Well, you see, the first day of the week was the fourth day. Now we will cover the explanation on that concerning the third day here a little bit later on.

Now - so we find no change, no evidence of the Sabbath being changed at all; no beginning of Sunday services there, nothing like that. Now when we come to the account in the book of John we are going to hear the words of Jesus Christ Himself. And we are going to see what He said. And we will ask the question: did He authorize any change to the day of worship? Let’s come to John 20, and let’s see the fifth place now where the first day of the week is mentioned. John 20, and let’s come there, begin right in verse 1. “The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark,…” So she left her house while it was yet dark, but as they were going, the sun…she went over and got the other women and the sun was coming up. So while she was walking to the sepulcher the sun was rising, and so it perfectly coincides with the other accounts. Just a matter of timing.

“…When it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher, and seeth the stone taken away from the sepulcher.” Before the sun even rose. And she runs and comes “…to Simon Peter, and to the other disciple, whom Jesus loved, and saith unto them, They have taken away the Lord out of the sepulcher, and we know not where they have laid Him” (John 20:1-2). Well what you know about that. Even she didn’t believe in the resurrection. No basis for Sunday worship because of the resurrection, right? No. None whatsoever. Then Peter and John run, and they look into the tomb, and so forth, and they left perplexed, not understanding. We’ll see a little later on that Jesus came and appeared to them and opened their minds to understand. Now the question is concerning you, do you understand concerning the Sabbath? Are you willing to have your mind opened to understand what these Scriptures are really saying? This gives no sanctification for any Sunday worship whatsoever.

Now let’s come to verse 11. “But Mary stood without at the sepulcher weeping: and as she wept, she stooped down, and looked into the sepulcher, and seeth two angels in white sitting, the one at the head, and the other at the feet, where the body of Jesus had lain. And they say unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? She saith unto them, Because they have taken away my Lord, and I know not where they have laid Him. And when she had thus said, she turned herself back, and saw Jesus standing, and knew not that it was Jesus. Jesus saith unto her, Woman, why weepest thou? whom seekest thou? She, supposing Him to be the gardener, saith unto Him, Sir, if thou have borne Him from hence [or, taken Him from here], tell me where thou hast laid Him, and I will take Him away. Jesus saith unto her, Mary. She turned herself, and saith unto Him, Rabboni; which is to say, Master” (vs. 11-16).

Now notice what Jesus said. “Jesus saith unto her, Touch Me not; for I am not yet ascended to My Father:…” (vs. 17). Now the first day of the week during the Feast of Unleavened Bread is called the Wave Sheaf Offering day. And the command is found in Leviticus 23, that there was a special sheaf which was cut. The ceremonial sheaf represented the first of the firstfruits harvest. On the morrow after the Sabbath the priest was to wave it and elevate it unto the Lord. And this was a ritual type of the resurrection of Jesus Christ, being accepted by God the Father in heaven above. So whatever time this was, Jesus had not yet ascended. Now we’re going to see this is very important.

And because it is the Wave Sheaf Offering day, Jesus did not say, “Well, you have to have a special ceremony here; you have to now make this Easter.” None of those things are said here, you see. There was no worship service. There was no instruction to change the day. Notice what He told her: “…For I am not yet ascended to My Father: but go to My brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto My Father, and your Father; and to My God, and your God. Mary Magdalene came and told the disciples that she had seen the Lord, and that He had spoken these things unto her” (vs. 17-18). So here we have first day of the week, there is nothing there which shows any necessity to change the Sabbath at all. No “Thus saith the Lord: I say to you, you have heard it said in old time in the past that you shall remember the Sabbath to keep it holy; but I say to you, you shall now keep the first day of the week, because I rose on this day.” Now what I just said is an utter lie, but that’s what most people believe. Because He wasn’t resurrected on the first day of the week, it was at the end of the Sabbath. He ascended to the Father on the first day of the week, fulfilling the wave sheaf offering.

Now notice what else He did on the first day of the week. And let’s read it right here in verse 19. “Then the same day at evening, being the first day of the week [Now let’s read, and see what this says], when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews,...” Now why were the disciples there? A lot of people say, “Well they were there to have their first Sunday service.” Why were they there? Because they were afraid of the Jews. They were afraid the Jews were going to get them and kill them as well. But notice what happened: “...Came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.”

Now what did He do on this first day of the week? Let’s go back to Luke 24 and let’s see what He taught them. Now Luke 24 would have to be the place in the New Testament where, if it were true - which it’s not, which means that it is a lie - but just, let’s say if it were true that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh day to the first day, this is where Jesus would had to have done it so that the apostles would have known. Because on that first day of the week they were assembled there for fear of the Jews. And Jesus could have come there and said, “Now I know you are here assembled for fear of the Jews, but I want you to understand something very profound: I am changing the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day. And this is My first commandment that I am giving you since I have been resurrected from the dead.” Did He say that? Is that recorded in scripture? There are a lot of people that believe what I just said. But that’s not what Jesus said. Let’s read it.

Luke 24:36, “And as they thus spake, Jesus Himself stood in the midst of them, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you.” That’s going right to the same time when He first appeared to them as we read in the gospel of John, chapter 20. “But they were terrified and affrighted, and supposed that that they had seen a spirit. And He said unto them, Why are ye troubled? and why do thoughts arise in your hearts? Behold My hands and My feet, that is I Myself: handle Me, and see; for a spirit hath not flesh and bones, as ye see Me have” (Luke 24:36-39). So He could manifest Himself back into being a human being again. Now that has an awful lot to do with the destiny of human beings, if you understand it. But we’ll cover that at another time.

“And when He had thus spoken, He shewed them His hands and His feet. And while they yet believe not for joy, and wondered, He said unto them, Have ye here any meat? And they gave Him a piece of a broiled fish, and of an honeycomb. And He took it, and did eat before them. And He said unto them, These are the words which I spake unto you, while I was yet with you, that all things must be fulfilled, which were written in the law of Moses, and in the prophets, and in the psalms, concerning Me.” Now verse 45 is a key: “Then opened He their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures,...” No change of the day of worship. None whatsoever. No evidence. You can go through all these places of the first day of the week. There’s no evidence for it.

Now notice verse 46. “…And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved [that means it was ordained and necessary for] Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: and that repentance and remission of sins should be preached in His name among all nations, beginning at Jerusalem” (vs. 46-47). No place at all. So there we have all of these accounts. Now we have gone through six places of the eight concerning the first day of the week. Now let’s look at the seventh one. Let’s come to Acts 20.

Now this one comes closest to looking like it was a church meeting, because Paul was speaking. But let’s follow the sequence here of this, beginning in Acts 20:6. “And we sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread,…” Why? Why did they go after? Why did they not go during? Because they kept the Feast of Unleavened Bread. So just like it said, “…and after the Sabbath ended, they went and bought spices” (Luke 23:56, paraphrased). So here, after the Feast of Unleavened Bread, the days of Unleavened Bread, they left “…and came unto them to Troas in five days; where we abode seven days.” So they got there and guess what? Another Sabbath took hold. That’s why they were there seven days. Now verse 7, “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread,…” (Acts 20:6-7). Now the Catholics say this is where they come together to take the Eucharist. Not so. This means to eat a meal. It does not mean to break bread in the sense of taking the Eucharist. It means to break bread in the sense of eating a meal.

And what were they doing? They were there eating. “…Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow [meaning that would be Sunday morning];…” And he was ready to go, and we will see that he took a journey. “…And continued his speech until midnight.” That’s how we know this was Saturday night going on into Sunday, because he preached into midnight. “And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where there were gathered together. And there sat in the window a certain young man...being fallen in a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead” (vs. 7-9). Now there’s a long winded preacher for you. See, Paul was ready to go and they would probably never see him again. So he preached, and preached, and preached, and preached, and preached clear on into midnight. Now let’s notice what happened.

“And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him and said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.” So that’s what we need to look at here. Now let’s read the rest of the account so we get it clear what it’s telling us. “When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread and eaten,…” Now if this was the Eucharist, then you would have to admit that they took the Eucharist right after sunset, as the Sabbath had ended; and then after midnight; after the young man fell down from the loft and was taken up; he was alive, then they took the Eucharist again. Now the only thing that makes sense is that they ate – they ate a meal. And after preaching clear until midnight you would be hungry again, so that’s why they ate. “…And talked a long while, even till the break of day, so he departed” (vs. 10-11).

So Paul stayed up all night and preached all night, didn’t he? He didn’t go to sunrise service at the break of day…he left. He didn’t have Sunday morning services, because Sunday morning he was walking. And as a matter of fact, if there are any indications of it, Paul walked some twenty miles that day to meet the boat where the other disciples were and scheduled to pick him up there. Let’s read it. “And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted. And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in, and came to Mitylene” (vs. 12-14). No evidence of Sunday service. Paul, there in teaching the disciples, no evidence that he taught them that now the Sabbath was no longer needed to be kept. He preached on the Sabbath, preached right on through the Sabbath, and on into the first day of the week, clear on up to midnight. And after they had eaten their second meal after midnight, then what happened? They all stayed around and talked until the break of day. And then Paul got up and walked twenty miles. Now if that’s keeping Sunday holy, you got another thought coming. So you see, every argument that has been used to try and prove that the first day of the week is now a holy day really has fallen completely down. No evidence of that whatsoever with any of it.

Now let’s look into last place. Let’s come to 1 Corinthians 16. Let’s look at this one. Now here in 1 Corinthians 16, let’s read it and let’s see what it says. Let’s see if there was a church meeting. Let’s see what it’s telling us here. Now verse 1, Paul writes, “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come” (1 Cor. 16:1-2). Now let’s analyze these two verses here and see, was there Sunday keeping?

First of all, “concerning the collection for the saints…” this is not taking up an offering, Sunday morning, in church. Though almost every little envelope in Sunday-keeping churches says, “Laid by in store on the first day of the week.” Who is the collection for? The saints. Not for the church. These were the starving saints in Jerusalem, and they were taking food and goods down to them. “…As I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you... [come to church].” No, it doesn’t say that. “…Let everyone of you lay by him in store...” In other words, “Go out and bring in the produce and lay it by you in storage, ready for the collection so it can be taken down to Jerusalem.” No Sunday-keeping here. “…As God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.” So this was a what? The first day of the week was a work day. Why? Because they kept the Sabbath the day before, that’s why. Paul taught them to keep the Sabbath in Corinth. Did you know that? We’ll see that. We’ve already covered some of that, but will look at it again.

Now verse 3, “And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approved by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.” So there it is. No church meeting anywhere whereby it gives any indication to change the day of the Sabbath from the seventh day to the first day of the week. It is not there.

Now let’s come back to Acts 18 and let’s see where Paul taught on the Sabbath day in Corinth. As a matter of fact, did so during the whole eighteen months that he was there. Now let’s come here to Acts 18, and let’s see what Paul did. “After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth [so this is his first introduction]; And [he] found a certain Jew named Aquila, born in Pontus, lately come from Italy, with his wife Priscilla; (because that Claudius had commanded all Jews to depart from Rome:) and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought: for by their occupation they were tentmakers. And he reasoned in the synagogue every sabbath [day], and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” (Acts 18:1-4).

Now let’s understand something: were there Gentiles there in the synagogue? Yes. Were there Jews there in the synagogue? Yes. They were both worshiping together on the Sabbath day, were they not? Yes. What does this tell us? This tells us that the Sabbath day was made for man, including Gentiles. And that knocks in a cocked hat the argument which people say the Sabbath was made for the Jews but Sunday was made for the Gentiles. They were both there. How can he persuade both Jews and Greeks if the Greeks, being Gentiles, were not there?

“And when Silas and Timotheus were come from Macedonia, Paul was pressed in the spirit, and testified to the Jews that Jesus was Christ. And when they opposed themselves, and blasphemed, he shook his raiment, and said unto them, Your blood be upon your own heads; I am clean: from henceforth I will go unto the Gentiles. And he departed thence, and entered into a certain man’s house, named Justus, one that worshipped God, whose house joined hard to the synagogue [right next to it]. And Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue, believed on the Lord with all his house; and many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized” (vs. 5-8). All this because of preaching on the Sabbath. Nothing whatsoever to do with Sunday.

Now, then the Lord appeared to him in a vision, spoke to him at night, and said, “...Be not afraid, but speak, and hold not thy peace: for I am with thee, and no man shall set on thee to hurt thee: for I have much people in this city. And he continued there a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (vs. 9-11). And it was every single Sabbath that he was teaching. Because that’s what he did up here. So you see, nowhere, nowhere in the Scriptures do you find any sanctification for Sunday.

Now let me read to you some very profound things, that some of them we may have already even heard. Now let me read this to you from Webster’s Unabridged Dictionary, defining Sunday. “Sunday, so called because this day was anciently dedicated to the sun or to its worship; the first day of the week; the Christian Sabbath.” Now notice how they define it, already accepted as fact. And we have proved that the first day of the week is not the Christian Sabbath. But the Christian Sabbath is the seventh day of the week. “…First day of the week; the Christian Sabbath; the day consecrated to rest from secular employment and religious worship; the Lord’s Day.”

“Sunday: Dias Solis, of the Roman calendar, the day of the sun because it is dedicated to the sun; the first day of the week was adopted by the early Christians as a day of worship.” Now we will see…and we’ve already covered that. It was forced upon them by Constantine and the Catholic Church. It wasn’t adopted. “The son of Latin adoration, they interpret it as ‘The Son of Righteousness.’” And that is the Schaff-Hertzog Encyclopedia, Old Edition.

Now let’s read some other confessions, some other Roman Catholic confessions concerning Sunday. And there’s some very profound ones here that we need to understand. A contradiction - “Question: How prove you that the Church hath [has] the power to command feasts and holy days? Answer: By the very act of changing the Sabbath to Sunday, which Protestants allow of, and they that thereby fondly contradict themselves by keeping Sunday strictly, and breaking most other feasts commanded by the same Church.” Now that’s taken from the Manual of Christian Doctrine. [1]

A substitution - “Question: Have you any other way of proving that the Church has [the] power to institute festivals of precept? Answer: Had she not such power, she could not have done that in which all modern religionists agree with her…” Well now, that is reasoning in a circle. They’re not going to the Scriptures and saying that the Catholic Church was ever given that power. Not so. We’ll cover that next time. “…She could not have substituted the observance of Sunday, the first day of the week, for the observance of Saturday [Sabbath], the seventh day [of the week], a change for which there is no Scriptural authority.” And that’s from A Doctrinal Catechism.[2]

“The Catholic Church,…by virtue of her divine mission, changed the day from Saturday to Sunday.”[3] That was written by Cardinal Gibbons. Now a lot of these controversies were going on just before the turn of the twentieth century. And that’s where a lot of these come from. “1.) Is Saturday the 7th day according to the Bible and the Ten Commandments? I answer yes. 2.) Is Sunday the first day of the week and did the Church change the 7th day, Saturday, for Sunday, to the 1st day? I answer yes. 3.) Did Christ change the day? I answer no! Faithfully yours, ‘J. Cardinal Gibbons.’”[4]

The Church did. Christ didn’t. If there was any change Christ had to have changed it. Look at the presumptuousness of men. No man can change what God has made Holy. No man can disannul the commandments of God that they may be righteous. Now this is something. This is something. Cardinal Gibbons also wrote, “…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 observance of Saturday, a day which we [that is, Catholics] never sanctified.”[5] Startling. I’ll have more to read to you next time.

Listen, we need to understand something - the religious teachers of this world know that they are lying when they talk about Sunday. They know that they are not preaching the truth. They know that these things are not of God, but of men. That’s very important for us to understand concerning which day is the true Sabbath.

Footnotes:

• [1] Manual of Christian Doctrine, Daniel Ferres, ed., 1916, p. 67
• [2] A Doctrinal Catechism, Stephen Keenan, 3^rd ed., p. 174.
• [3] James Cardinal Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, Sept. 23, 1893
• [4] James Cardinal Gibbons, Gibbons’ autograph letter
• [5] James Cardinal Gibbons, The Faith Of Our Fathers, 88^th ed., pp. 89