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Chapter IV
A. Days of Worship
for the Christian Church during the Millennial Reign of Jesus
Christ.
We
have seen what the early Church of God in Jerusalem, and then
the Judeo-Christians were like in their worship practices.
This final chapter is contained in three links.
First, what days of worship will the Church keep when
Jesus and the resurrected saints return to earth and rule
from Jerusalem? That
is a good question, and amazingly enough, one the Bible provides
a clear answer to, if you are willing to believe the Bible
and what it has to say on this subject.
The answer to that question is provided by the article
in this link: http://www.unityinchrist.com/kingdomofgod/mkg5.htm. This article ties together all the related prophecies
on this subject in a clear, honest and concise manner. This looks forward. Now a link that looks back.
B. Did A Remnant From These Sabbatarian Churches
of God Survive Constantine?
The
answer to that question is contained in a whole Church history
subsection on this website. To read an amazing history, a history put together
by this very group of Sabbatarian Churches of God, log onto
http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals.htm. Now a link that looks to the present.
C. Resources:
"The Feast's
of the Lord" by Kevin Howard & Marvin Rosenthal,
$17.95, can be ordered by mailing to:
Zion's Hope, 1390 N. Hancock Road, Suite 201, Clermont,
Florida, 34711. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Daniel-Neb7.htm.
"In The Shadow of The Temple" by Oskar Skarsaune
"The Rise of Christianity" by Rodney Stark
"A History of Christianity" by Paul Johnson
"Nazarene Jewish Christianity" by Ray Pritz
"The Text of the New Testament: It's Transmission, Corruption, and Restoration",
by Bart D. Ehrman
D. Sabbatarian
Churches of God:
Sabbatarian
Churches of God: What Are the Doctrinal
Distinctives of a Sabbatarian Church of God?
This
is an article which has been written to help define what the basic Sabbatarian
Church of God is. I was born-again and
drawn to Jesus in one, and attended that same Sabbatarian Church of God for
over 27 years. So I know a little bit
about them. First I am going to explain
a couple Messianic Jewish terms that defines these groups and how they differ
from the rest of Gentile Christianity. All the Sabbatarian Church of God denominations fit into the first of
these two categories, while one did come into the second category, but did not
remain a non-Torah observant Sabbatarian Church of God for more than five or
six years, before becoming a Sunday observing church. So here goes with those two Messianic terms
or categories:
Definitions
Torah-observant: Torah-observant
believers in Jesus believe the Ten Commandment Law of God including seventh day
Sabbath, Holy Days of Leviticus 23 and dietary laws of Leviticus 11 are in full
force for the believer. They often look
at other (Sunday observing) believers as “false Christians” from strictly a
doctrinal belief point of view, and not out of any hatred or dislike for Sunday
observers. As such their doctrinal beliefs
have separated them out from active joint participation within the rest of the body of Christ. They still perform an active and important role in witnessing to the
carnal world, as the Lord directs them. Romans 14 warns, “who art thou that judgest another man’s servant? To his own master he standeth or
falleth. Yea, he shall be holden up: for
God is able to make him stand” (vs. 4). That
“man” in “man’s servant” is Jesus Christ, in context with Paul’s epistle
here. Having spent 27 years in one of
these Sabbatarian Churches of God, and having fellowshipped with several others
from time to time, I have witnessed the indwelling Holy Spirit in many if not
most of their membership.
Non-Torah
observant: Non-Torah observant believers
in Jesus or Yeshua believe in what they term as the New Testament “Law of
Christ” (9 of the 10 Commandments) to be in full force for the believer. They believe “Days of Worship” have been made
an optional choice according to their interpretation of the New Testament (cf.
Romans 14 and Acts 15). That means “days
of worship” are an optional choice for them, left up to the believer and the
denomination he or she attends. If one
does not agree with the choice of his or her denomination, the individual is
free to go to the one that matches his or her choice in days of worship. Gentile Christian believers for almost 1700
years have chosen Sunday/Christmas/Easter as their primary days of
worship. Messianic Jewish believers who
are non-Torah observant choose the Sabbath and Holy Days to worship on, and
most also observe the dietary laws of Leviticus 11, mostly out of ethnic
cultural choice. But rest assured, their Messianic Jewish observance almost matches the
observance of the Torah observant Sabbatarian Churches of God, those days being
previously ingrained into their cultural upbringing for millennia.
I prefer these Messianic terms over
others, as they are totally non-derogatory and lack the slanderous connotation
of other terms that have been used to define these two groups of
believers.
Torah-observant
Sabbatarian Churches of God
As
you will notice, it is the “Days of Worship” which define the Sabbatarian
Churches of God. In their obedience to
the biblical Christian standards Christ gave to the Church (i.e. 9 of the 10
Commandments), they are in total harmony with the rest of Gentile
Christianity. It is in days of worship
where they differ. Their church life
revolves around the Sabbath and Holy Days, especially in what these days
symbolically represent in Scripture. We
will see that what they believe in this area almost totally matches what the
Messianic Jewish believers believe. And
God has just restored the Jewish branch of the body of Christ all just within
the past 40 short years, so taking a closer look at our Sabbatarian Church of
God brothers wouldn’t be a bad idea. First they base their belief in the Old Testament Law of God still being
in full force on a simple interpretation of Matthew 5:17-19, which states, “Think
not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to
destroy, but to fulfil. 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…” Now here is an important point in their theology. Have heaven and earth passed? No they haven’t. Even though others argue that Christ
fulfilled them, it can be pointed out that he expects us to follow his example,
which was one of obedience to God’s law. Also, in Scripture we can see when heaven and earth do pass away, and
that is in Revelation 20:14-15 and Revelation 21:1 “And I saw a new heaven and
a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and
there was no more sea.” Also see 2
Peter 3:10-13 where Peter graphically describes this event. So “till heaven and earth pass” puts a time
element for the law of God remaining intact, a time element which is often
ignored by Gentile Christians who try to use only part of this verse to prove
their point. Continuing in verse 19 of Matthew 5, “Whosoever therefore
shall break one of these least commandments, and shall teach men to do 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.” Then Jesus goes on in Matthew 5 to define the
spirit of the 10 Commandment Law of God. So this passage is the bedrock of the Sabbatarian Churches of God’s
belief in the Old Testament 10 Commandment Law of God being for Christians. As I stated before, the major difference is
in the days of worship they observe. But it is important to also see what they
see in these days. So let’s take a look.
The Sabbath: A careful reading of Leviticus 23 will show
the seventh day Sabbath is also listed as a Holy Day (Leviticus 23:1-3). Hebrews shows the actual physical Sabbath
represents the spiritual rest we have in Christ by the indwelling of the Holy
Spirit within believers. This rest is
experienced in reality 24/7. But just
because we are living the reality does not make it wrong to observe the shadow
of that reality. Read Hebrews
4:1-11. Verse 10 is a direct reference
to God taking rest in Genesis right after the creation, which created the
Sabbath by the very fact that God rested. The Jews, Messianic believers and Sabbatarian Churches of God feel this
is significant in that the Sabbath wasn’t created at the time of Moses, but
predates the Law being given to Moses right back in Genesis at the creation of
man. Quoting A History of the True Religion, chapter 20 [obviously a Sabbatarian
Church of God history, which reflects their non-recognition of Sunday observing
Christians as valid Christians] “Luther himself, while it is said believed in
and practiced the observance of the seventh-day Sabbath, did not prescribe it in
his articles of faith for his followers, in the copies we now have access
to. However, it has been said that in
his original thesis, Luther advocated the observance of the seventh-day
Sabbath, but that his colleagues objected on the grounds that it was an
unpopular doctrine, which would have a tendency to repulse supporters of the
Reformation who were not as pious as they
should have been, but were of great assistance against the usurpations of
the papacy.” And then it gets real
interesting. Luther makes the same point
Jews and Messianic believers make, as well as Sabbatarians. Quoting from his commentary on Exodus 16:4,
22-30, regarding the Sabbath: “Hence you can see that the Sabbath was before
the Law of Moses came, and has existed from the beginning of the world. Especially have the devout, who have preserved the true faith, met together and called
upon God on this day.” (Translated from Auslegung des Alten Testaments (Commentary on the Old Testament),
in Sammtliche Schriften (Collected
Writings), edited by J.G. Walch, Vol. 3, col. 950 [St. Louis edition of
Luther’s Works, 1880]). “Luther
said of the Waldenses ‘that among them he had found one thing [in particular]
worthy of admiration, a thing unheard of in the popish church, that, laying
aside the doctrines of men, they meditated in the law of God day and night, and
that they were expert, and even well versed, in the knowledge of the
Scriptures’ (Jones’ Church History, p.
263).” So we see Luther had contact and
was influenced by the Sabbatarian Waldensians. His argument that the Sabbath started in Genesis 2 is both Biblical and
a Jewish and Sabbatarian observation. Each group, Sunday and Sabbath observing see the argument for their
practice within this chapter (Hebrews 4). But the proofs lie elsewhere and are not the
subject of this article. It is just
important to see the significance of what they see in the Sabbath. Another symbolic meaning which some say can
be seen in the Bible is that mankind has been allocated 6,000 years for his
governments, and that after the 2nd coming of Jesus Christ, God
rules over mankind for one thousand years of peaceful existence—and that the
Sabbath typifies or symbolizes the last 1,000 years of God’s redemptive
plan for mankind in Revelation 20. This
is a viable argument which does have Scriptural backing. According to those
within the Sabbath-keeping Churches of God, the Sabbath Command has not been
abrogated or transferred to Sunday. See http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/Has%20the%20Sabbath%20Been%20Abrogated.htm to read a good explanation of why they believe this.
The
Holy Days of Leviticus chapter 23
To
learn the biblical historic and prophetic significance of God’s Holy Days,
believed by both the Sabbatarian Churches of God and all Messianic Jewish
believers in Yeshua, log onto the following link and read the whole file: http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm. The Holy Days and what they represent, when
properly understood, appear to have far more significance in explaining the
whole of God’s redemptive plan of salvation for mankind than the Gentile Christian
days. Few understand this important
point, because few look beyond the actual days and into what they
represent. So be very sure to log onto
that link above and read that file before continuing. There is tremendous meaning in the historic
and prophetic symbolism of the Holy Days of Leviticus 23 which most of Sunday
observing Christianity is almost totally ignorant of.
An
Example of a Sabbath-keeping Church of God
A
fairly large and well organized Torah-observant Sabbatarian Church of God is
the United Church of God. In spite of
them being Torah-observant, they are fast becoming what I term Agape-Christ
centered, and quite friendly. Check out
this link going to the United Church of God’s website: http://www.ucg.org.
Some
might be led to think the Torah-observant variety of
Sabbatarian Churches of God are sort of dying out after the massive
split in the Worldwide Church of God during the 1990s. Not so. There are over 375 separate “denominations” of Torah-observant
Sabbatarian Churches of God in existence right now.
Related links:
The
Sabbath-keeping Churches of God’s argument for Sabbath-observing:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/Has%20the%20Sabbath%20Been%20Abrogated.htm
Biblical symbolic
meaning of the Holy Days:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Holydayshadows.htm
http://www.unityinchrist.com/lamb/exodus1.html
http://www.unityinchrist.com/lamb/lastsix.htm
http://www.unityinchrist.com/messianicmovement/Feast%20of%20Weeks.htm
http://www.unityinchrist.com/E-Mails/June%2014/FallHolyDays-short.htm
History of the
Sabbath-keeping Churches of God:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/revivals.htm
http://www.unityinchrist.com/history/historycog1.htm
http://www.unityinchrist.com/wwcofg/wwcofgod.html
Early Church
History:
http://www.unityinchrist.com/history2/index3.htm
Modern Example of
a Sabbatarian Church of God:
http://www.ucg.org
What brings you to this article? :
http://www.unityinchrist.com/E-Mails/June%2014/What brings you to this article.pdf
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