 |
| FREE DOWNLOAD |
As a Sabbath-keeper I notice that whenever the issue of the
Sabbath is raised it tends to breed controversy and cause some to think that
whenever this subject is brought up it is usually an attempt
to indoctrinate. I have seen this trend over and over again
in my experience.
In those early days of my Christian experience I used to
relish the Sabbath controversy. Because of this I always make it a point of duty
to make sure I have those strong Sabbath texts at my finger tips with which I
can pummel those "pig-headed" Sunday-keepers who don’t believe in the
Sabbath truth. But over time I realized that I was just engaged in an
unprofitable, back-and-forth debate where it becomes a case of “my texts
against yours”, “that’s not my opinion”, “my church taught me this way”. And I
don't think that this was an exercise that God sanctioned.
First to begin with, (without being aware of it) I was
treating my brothers and sisters from the Sunday-keeping churches as belonging to
the "other side" in that they are not of the "true
fold". Even the non-Christian
motivational speakers would advise me that that is no way to convince anybody.
Thank God I am no longer of that mindset; I believe that I have reached the
place where I can truly acknowledge each Sunday-keeping member as my bretheren
in the body of Christ. They might not be as enlightened on certain truths but
they truly belong to Christ.
I am saying all of this to say that, like all the other blog
post before this, this is not designed to be a means of indoctrination but the
sharing of thought on a particular subject. I am not trying to play the role of
the Holy Spirit who alone can convict of truth. I am just going to tell you of
my experience concerning a particular Bible text that helped to confirm me in
this Sabbath position.
As a part of my love affair with Bible prophecy, the
prophetic utterances by Jesus Christ in Matthew 24 was my third most read prophecy
in the entire Bible beside Daniel 7 and Revelation 13. I read that chapter all
the time and did not stop to notice a particular verse until later in my
prophecy studies.
Here's the verse I am talking about:
"But pray ye
that your flight be not in the winter, neither on the Sabbath day:" Matt.24:20
At first glance this verse seems to teach that it was only to
the Jewish Christians that this admonition applies. After all, the prophecy is
supposed to be about the destruction of Jerusalem, which was fulfilled in the
second half of the first century (AD 70).
Assuming that it applies to the Jews, this verse is still significant
since conventional opinion has it that the Sabbath was abolished at the cross
and was not supposed to be kept by first century Christians. But here is it
that Jesus is telling them that in the future Sabbath-keeping will still be
binding... and so binding and sacred will it be then that the Christians should
pray that they don't have to take their flight on that day! Get the point?
But does this prophecy apply only to first-century (Jewish) Christians?
We need to understand that this prophecy in Matthew 24 has a dual application
(proleptic prophecy). It is applicable both to the destruction of Jerusalem and
the Second Coming of Christ. In that case wouldn't the Sabbath be applicable in
both fulfillment of the prophecy? The verse that follows provides the answer
for me as it relates to the point in time when this flight is supposed
to take place. Here is what it says:
"For then shall
be great tribulation, such as was not since the beginning of the world to this
time, no, nor ever shall be." Matt. 24:21
When I connect both verses together I cannot help but
conclude that the time when the Christians are to take their flight will be a time
of great distress that was never seen before and the likes of which will never
be repeated at any time in the future. The only time that I can think of that
fits that description is the great time of trouble, spoken of by the prophet Daniel
in the following declaration:
“And at that time
shall Michael stand up, the great prince which standeth for the children of thy
people: and there shall be a time of trouble, such as never was since there was
a nation even to that same
time: and at that time thy people shall be delivered, every one that shall be
found written in the book.“ Dan. 12:1
If the Sabbath will still be binding at that point in earth's
history then we need to visualize its implication on the issue of worship
during the reign of the Antichrist in the last days. If the Bible teaches that
this end-time enemy of Christ will exalt himself above all that is called God and
all that is worshipped (2Thess. 2:1-4) then we can hardly ignore its effects on
the present Sabbath/Sunday worship arrangement in the Christian tradition.
In my prophecy course I deal with the Sabbath issue in light
of its connection to the end-time prophecies of Daniel and Revelation. I speak about the subject
in different sections of the course as a matter that is more than just a day of
worship. I
sincerely believe that it will be an issue in the last days.
PS. This is an advisory
to all my Sunday-keeping readers who still believe that it doesn’t really
matter which day you observe: If you are not
convicted that the Sabbath should still be kept, continue to worship God
according to the dictates of you own conscience. The most important obligation
in your Christian walk is to remain in a relationship with Christ; He will lead
you into all truth.
Other resource you can check out:
No comments:
Post a Comment