Have I made Paul greater than Jesus?

God, after He spoke long ago to the fathers through the prophets in many portions and in many ways, in these last days has spoken to us through His Son “Paul”  Hebrews 1:1-2

"Jesus said: Therefore, everyone who hears these words of mine “Paul” and puts them into practice is like a wise man who built his house on the rock. But everyone who hears these words of mine “Paul” and does not put them into practice is like a foolish man who built his house on sand. Mat 7:24,26

In my journey to understand why I and mainstream Christianity have jettisoned the Torah I discovered that I was clinging to my understanding of the words of Paul even if they contradicted the clear words of Jesus, the clear word of YAHWEH or Paul himself. Whenever I read the words of Paul and they seem to contradict the Torah, the Prophets and Jesus who are all in agreement, I always chose to believe the contradicting words of Paul and ignore or reinterpret everything else. I simply believed that Paul had some kind of direct revelation, that Jesus chose not to teach, and it changed everything. The details and effect of this direct revelation were codified later in Christianity from cross referencing writings of Paul. At its most basic, it goes like this. If I accept Jesus, If I love others, I have fulfilled the Law and if the Law is fulfilled I do not need to really know, really understand or really follow God’s Law as long as I love others. The problem is, that is not how God described His plan, or how the Prophets presented it nor how Jesus presented it.

Jesus says:

Man shall live by every word that comes out of the mouth of YAHWEH.  Mat 4:4

Whoever nullifies one of the least of these commandments, and teaches others to do the same, shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven; but whoever keeps and teaches them, he shall be called great in the kingdom of heaven. Mat 5:19

Nothing in the Torah will pass away until heaven and earth pass away Mat 5:18

He specifically says He did not come to abolish the Torah. Mat 5:17

Pay special attention to the more important parts of the Torah but do not neglect the smallest parts Mat 23:23

He will reject those who are Lawless. Mat 7:23

If you love me, you will keep My commandments and I always have the same words (commands) that my Father has. John 14:10,15

The Torah of YHWH is perfect, restoring the soul; Psalms 19:7

Forever, YHWH, Your word stands in heaven.  I will never forget Your commandments;  How I love Your Torah! It is my meditation all day. Psa 119:89,93,97

You are near, YHWH, and all Your commandments are truth. From long ago I have known from Your testimonies That You have founded them forever Psa 119:151-152

The sum of Your word is truth, and every one of Your righteous ordinances is everlasting. Psa 119:160

"God is not a man, that He would lie, Nor a human, that He would change His mind; Has He said, and will He not do it? Or has He spoken, and will He not make it good? Num 23:19

Certainly, YWHW GOD does nothing Unless He reveals His secret plan to His servants the prophets. Amo 3:7

The Prophets say.

“I will give them an undivided heart and put a new spirit in them; I will remove from them their heart of stone and give them a heart of flesh. Then they will follow my decrees and be careful to keep my laws. They will be my people, and I will be their God.” Eze 11:19-20

"This is the covenant I will make with the people of Israel after that time," declares YHWH. I will put my Torah in their minds and write it on their hearts. I will be their God, and they will be my people.” Jer 31:33

The grass withers and the flowers fall, but the commandments (word) of our God endures forever. Isa 40:8

The other Apostles say.

By this we know that we have come to know Him if we keep His commandments. 1John 2:3

The one who says, "I have come to know Him," and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him; 1John 2:4

Those who obey God's commandments remain in fellowship with Him, and He with them. 1 John 3:24

For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome. 1John 5:3

To this you were called, because the Messiah suffered for you, leaving you an example, that you should follow in his steps. "He committed no sin, and no deceit was found in His mouth. 1Pe 2:22

Many times, the Apostles, including Paul, quote the Torah when they want to show that they have authority to say what they are saying. There are about 342 OT quotes in the NT. They appeal to the Torah’s authority to validate what they were writing. Paul quotes the Torah as authoritative, but does Paul then say the Torah is no longer needed, fading out of sight, been abolished, replaced, or set aside? Especially when the Torah he is quoting says it will not be abolished, replaced, or set aside. That would be contradicting the very thing he says is his authority.

Do I say this merely on human authority? Doesn't the Law say the same thing? 1Co​r.​ 9:8 

Peter warns against taking Paul's words and making them mean lawlessness. 

There are some things in them that are hard to understand, which the ignorant and unstable twist to their own destruction, as they do the other Scriptures. You, therefore, beloved, knowing this beforehand, take care that you are not carried away with the error of lawless people and lose your own stability. 2 Peter 3:15-17

 So, was Paul a hypocrite in what he taught compared to what he lived?

Are my Christian teachers and preachers correct that Paul had revelations that overrule YAHWEH’s words and contradict Jesus and even Paul himself. 

Luke records how noble people received Paul’s teachings.

Now these Jews (Bereans) were more noble than those in Thessalonica; they received the word with all eagerness, examining the Scriptures daily to see if these things were so. Acts 17:11

What were the “Scriptures” that the Bereans examined to compare Paul’s teachings to?

The only Scriptures the first Christians had was the Old Testament.

So, for the Bereans, everything Paul said HAD to be in 100% agreement with the Old Testament. Such as...

You shall walk after the YHWH your God and fear Him and keep His commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve Him and hold fast to Him. Deut 13:4

Otherwise, they would have considered Paul a false prophet.

The Bereans show me that Paul preached in agreement to the Law of God. As mentioned in Acts 17.

The New Testament scriptures testify that Paul lived in accordance to the Law of God.

take these men and purify yourself along with them and pay their expenses, so that they may shave their heads. Thus, all will know that there is nothing in what they have been told about you, but that you yourself also live in observance of the law. Acts 21:24

Paul lived God’s Law and he taught God’s Law.

Why does my pastor interpret Paul’s teachings as doing away with the Law of God? ... even though the Bereans proved he was in agreement with it?

Is my pastor making Paul out to be a hypocrite by implying that Paul was saying “Do as I say and not as I do”. Paul told the Church in Corinth, those who were born as gentiles, to ..

Be imitators of me, as I am of the Messiah. 1 Cor 11:1

Paul also says:

You know what God wants; you know what is right because you have been taught His Law. You are so proud of knowing the ​Torah, but you dishonor God by breaking it.​  Rom 2:18,23

through the Torah comes knowledge of sin.​ Romans 3:20​

Is there any value in the ceremony of circumcision?  Yes, there are great benefits!​ ​ Rom 3:1-2

​Do we then nullify the law through faith? Absolutely not! On the contrary, we uphold the law.​ Rom 3:3​1​

What should we say then? Should we continue in sin so that grace may multiply? Absolutely not! How can we who died to sin still live in it?​ ​ Rom 6:1-2

What shall we say, then? Is the law sinful? Certainly not! Nevertheless, I would not have known what sin was had it not been for the Law. Rom 7:7

​Paul said “I love God's Law with all my heart.”​  Rom 7:22

So then, I myself, in my mind am a servant to God's Law, but in my sinful nature a servant to the law of sin.​​ Rom 7:25 

The mind governed by the flesh is hostile to God; it does not submit to God's Law, nor can it do so. For if you live according to the flesh, you will die; but if by the Spirit you put to death the misdeeds of the body, you will live. For those who are led by the Spirit of God are the children of God.  Rom 8:7,13,14

(OT prophesied that God would give us new hearts and new spirit that would want to obey his Laws Eze 11:19)

The Bereans show in Acts 17, that Paul taught in accordance with the Old Testament. And Acts 24 testifies he lived by God’s Law and Paul’s own testimony was that he loves and follows God’s Law.

Maybe people who take Paul’s letters and interpret them that God no longer wants us to follow His instructions (Torah), have become those of who Peter warned me. If I listen to them Peter says “I will lose my own stability”

Which do I follow? The Eternal word of God or the excerpted words of Paul? Words quoted many times devoid of any historical or narrative context but repeated so much they seem normal to me. Even though, they contradict the rest of the Bible.

The whole of God’s word does not teach that, If we love God, we do not and will not obey His commandments. God’s Word constantly says “IF I truly love, Then I will truly keep His commandments”. It does not say, IF I keep His commandments, Then I will love. It says, only when I truly love God first will I want to obey His commandments. Obedience does not bring Love. Love brings obedience. God loves me and when I accept His free love and forgiveness and love Him in return, I want to obey my loving parent. Not out of fear, not to win acceptance, but out of love and respect, trusting what He tells me to do (even if I do not understand) is for my best interest.

 

Blessed is the one whose delight is in the Torah of YAHWEH, and who meditates on His Torah day and night. That person is like a tree planted by streams of water, which yields its fruit in season and whose leaf does not wither--whatever they do prospers. Psalms 1:1-3

Those who love Your Law have great peace (shalom), And nothing causes them to stumble. Psa 119:165

I hope for Your salvation (Yeshua), YHWH, and do Your commandments. Psa 119:166

 

May YAHWEH bless you and keep you!

 

The Sabbath is a weekly committment to Gods Ideal of Eden

In Eden, God provided trees that bore fruit. The humans did not have to toil to make things produce fruit. Everything just produced. Every day, all humans had to do was "tend the garden. Not sure what that was, but the garden did not need much. As I learned later in the Bible, on the sixth day in Eden we would have gathered double, so on the 7th, no need to gather. The humans trust God to provide all security, all health and a wonderful environment and He dwells with us in the garden. Tragically,  Adam and Eve rebelled and lost the eternal Sabbath. God commanded that we remember the Sabbath. The Sabbath is the practice of trusting God. If on the 7th day ,I do not work, God will provide, If I do not gather on the Sabbath, God will provide, if I do not sow, God will provide. 

The Sabbath's  fulfilment  looks forward to the time in the future of the end of the age. Living in the present, I practice what I believe the whole story is moving towards the future. Preparing myself for something that is so important. The weekly Sabbath is a foretaste and practice of the New Creation.

The weekly Sabbath, the 7th day (in Hebrew the words Sabbath, Rest and Seven all share the same letters)  is what God has given us for the rhythm of time and also the key to understanding the other festivals and the pattern for understanding the mission of Jesus. The Sabbaths are the timetable for the year of Jubilee which is a more detailed description of the restored Eden life, which is what Jesus initiated. Everything Jesus did was to launch the eternal Jubilee, the super Sabbath. (Luke 4:16-21)

Of course there is a lot more, but these are my thoughts this Sabbath morning. 

What does the Sabbath mean to you?

What Does Shavuot/Pentecost have to do with the birth of the CHURCH?

I have been taught that that the “Church” was birthed in the New Testament, specifically in Acts 2 at Pentecost. Jesus had arrived and He promised a new entity - "His Church". Now there would be something other than "Israel". Israel will still have its own path to take but now a brand new thing is happening and Acts 2 kicks it off. But is that really the story the Bible tells? I found a very different story in the Scriptures. 

When I say “Church", I mean the Greek word “Ekklesia” (ἐκκλησία Strongs G1577) that is used in the Greek New Testament. There are a couple of theories, but no one knows exactly why we translate “Ekklesia” as Church. A more accurate interpretation of “Ekklesia” would be “assembly” as the word means “a called out assembly, but it’s much too late for that. At this point in order to have any meaningful discussion we have to use the word “Church”. The English word “Church" has 2 meanings – The People of God or the place that they meet. I will only be using it in the sense of “The People of God, specifically The People of the only true God, YAHWEH and His son, Jesus or Yahshua, His Hebrew name, which means “YAHWEH Saves”.

Using the Greek word “Ekklesia” I searched the Septuagint*¹, (the Greek Old Testament) translated about 300 years before Jesus was born. The Jewish scribes that translated the Old Testament into Greek chose the word “Ekklesia" to describe the “Assembly” of  YAHWEH. The New Testament authors chose the same word when describing the Gods People. It would be helpful if translations stayed consistent throughout the Bible. For instance, the Bible translates the Hebrew “Yahshua” into Joshua in the Old Testament but translates the exact same name in the New Testament as “Jesus”. That is why it is very important to study the original languages. And when I study the Greek word for Church “Ekklesia” I find that God’s Church is throughout the Old Testament. Also when I study the Hebrew text I find the word “Qahal” ( קָהָל H6951) is used to describe the “Assembly” of YAHWEH. And “Qahal” also means "an assembly that is called out”. So, the Hebrew text also shows that YAHWEH’s Assembly/Church is throughout the Old Testament. It’s not the Greek word “Ekklesia or the Hebrew word “Qahal” that is significant. In the Bible the words “church or assembly” are not special. They are quite common. It’s the context and modifiers that tell me when they are significant. Its YAHWEH’s church/assembly, the church/assembly of YAHWEH, Jesus’ church. Whose “ekklesia” or “qahael” / “assembly/church” are we talking about. That’s what makes it special. Whe I see that, I can  see YAHWEH’s Church throughout the Bible and not just in the New Testament.  

When I look for the birth of Church, I find that the Scriptures reveal that YAHWEH birthed His Church “Ekklesia” when He rescued the Israelites out of Egypt. The Ekklesia, the Church, the Assembly of the LORD/YAHWEH, was created at the first Covenant at Mt. Sanai (Ex 19:5-8 & Ex 24:3)*². This is all part of YAHWEH’s plan to restore Humanity to Himself and bring us back into fellowship with Him. The fellowship we lost in the Garden. When we rejected fellowship with God, YAHWEH began His plan of bringing us back to Him. God called Abraham and promised him that through his descendants God would bring all nations including Gentiles back to Him. When God rescued Abraham’s descendants and a large number of Gentiles out of Egypt*³ He made a covenant with them. However, because of the peoples hard rebellious hearts they were not able to keep their side of this Covenant. Jeremiah and Ezekiel both prophecied that YAHWEH is going to give a New Covenant that will enable people to stay in fellowship with Him. 

 “I will give you a new heart and put a new spirit within you; and I will remove the heart of stone from your flesh and give you a heart of flesh. "And I will put My Spirit within you and bring it about that you walk in My statutes, and are careful and follow My ordinances”. Eze 26:26-27

"Behold, days are coming," declares YAHWEH, "when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and the house of Judah, not like the covenant which I made with their fathers on the day I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt, My covenant which they broke, although I was a husband to them," declares YAHWEH. "For this is the covenant which I will make with the house of Israel after those days," declares YAHWEH: "I will put My Torah within them and write it on their heart; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. Jer 31:31-33

There is a beautiful Feast of YAHWEH called The Festival of Shavuot//Pentecost that happens at the same time of year that this First Covenant was given.  It is no coincidence that at this same Festival, Shavuot, in Acts 2, the Church/Assembly of YAHWEH, which had broken the first covenant, was given the New Covenant.  Both events had similar sounds and symbols - wind, fire, smoke, voices/languages (the Hebrew word translated thunder in Exodus is “kolot” Strong’s H6963, which means voices or languages).  At the first Shavout/Pentecost YAHWEH gave His Words written on stone tablets. At Shavout/Pentecost in Acts He wrote His Torah on hearts. At Mt. Sinai, God's presence was symbolized by a cloud and fire, which led the Israelites out of Egypt. Later, God moved His presence into the Tabernacle and then the Temple. (2 Chron. 5:7-8, 13-14). When that temple was rebuilt there is no record of God moving His presence into that temple. Then in Acts 2 during Shavuot, God's presence moved into a "new temple," the followers of Jesus (1 Cor 3:16;Rom. 8:9)*⁴.

In Acts 2, the people were in Jerusalem to celebrate Shavuot and remember the time long ago when God showed up in fire, wind, smoke and voices/thunder at Mt. Sinai.  Suddenly, it looks like God is showing up again in the same way that He came before. They see fire and smoke and hear voices and the place is shaking violently. God is back! At Mt. Sinai, 3000 were killed as a result of them breaking God's Torah. In Acts 2, 3000 were added to God's Church as He wrote His Torah on their Hearts. Looking at the history of Shavuot and what God did there makes the story of Acts 2 so much deeper and increases my faith in the God of the Bible. His plans were made since the beginning of time and are exact down to the last detail. What a mighty God we serve! 

At Shavuot in Acts 2 God enters His New Temple. This is not the final restoration act of renewing the fellowship that He had with humanity in the Garden but it’s a very big step. Humans rejected and broke fellowship with God in the garden. Humans lost the garden and are on a journey of God bringing us completely back to Him. In this journey God is teaching us important things about Him and important things about ourselves. The giving of the New Covenant in Acts 2 is not an unexpected something new, it’s the anticipated promise of how we can get past our constant failure to keep our side of the covenant. We lost God’s presence in the Garden, so God presented us a way to get a piece of His Holy presence in  the Tabernacle/Temple. As God knew we would, we failed to keep that small piece of His presence in the Temple. But God has now made us to be His temple. We are now the place that YAHWEH has chosen to put His name*⁵. Each of us can now experience a piece of His presence inside us and when 2 or 3 of us gather together we become the Temple and He is in our presence corporately. God’s People, God’s Elect have been there from the beginning and He has been rescuing them and restoring them to Himself. There is no Church that is God’s Elect that is separate from the Israel that is God’s Elect. Gentiles were in Exodus 19 at the first Covenant and birth of the Church and it has always been the plan to save the whole world. God chose to do it through Abrham’s descendants, of which I am grafted into and have become a citizen of God’s Israel*³. Through the Messiah, male or female, Jew or Gentile can all become children of Israel and all heirs of the Promise. 

Followers of Judaism celebrate Shavuot/Pentecost as the giving of the Torah but do not believe the New Covenant has been given yet. Christianity teaches that the Church is something different than Israel and many times teaches that the Church is an entity that has replaced Israel in God’s plans and that the New Covenant has done away with YAHWEH’s Torah. Christianity does this by cobbling together what I have found to be vague out of context random New Testament scriptures or using manmade doctrines. But to me, the Scriptures themselves present a consistent connecting message. The stories of Eden, the Flood, Exodus, wilderness, The Covenant, are not just historical background stories. These are the foundational context for everything Jesus did and everything that happens with the Church. The New Testament plugs into, not replaces or does away with, the story line that began in the Torah and Prophets. The Torah and the Prophets is the Bible of Jesus and the Apostles. They had no other Scriptures. They did not see themselves replacing it. They revered it, honored it, trusted it, followed it. They were raised on it, praying and singing and memorizing from a young age. I experience and understand God in a much more powerful beautiful compelling way, when I see myself plugged into the story line from the Torah and Prophets and take the time to understand Jesus’ and the Apostle’s Bible. 

NOTES

1.
When I read the scriptures in their original language, I can sometimes see what translations have unintentionally hidden from my view and sometimes have forced an interpretation on me that was not originally intended. In the scriptures below I have consistently interpreted “Ekklesia” as “Church” in the Old and New Testament. As stated before “Assembly” would be a better choice but western history has bypassed that so I will stick with “Church”. It takes context to know when it is talking about a people chosen by God and are His people or just a more general assembly. I have capitalized where I think the context clearly means God’s People. 

Ekklēsía/CHURCH  in the Greek New Testament

"And I also say to you that you are Peter, and on this rock I will build my CHURCH and the gates of Hades will not overpower it. Mat 16:18 

"If he doesn't pay attention to them, tell the CHURCH. If he doesn't pay attention even to the CHURCH, let him be like a Gentile and a tax collector to you. Mat 18:17 

Then great fear came on the whole CHURCH and on all who heard these things.  Act 5:11 

"He is the one who was in the CHURCH in the wilderness, with the angel who spoke to him on Mount Sinai, and with our ancestors. He received living oracles to give to us. Act 7:38 

The church. was in confusion: Some were shouting one thing, some another. Most of the people did not even know why they were there. Act 19:32 

If there is anything further you want to bring up, it must be settled in a legal church. Act 19:39 

After he had said this, he dismissed the church Act 19:41 

He says, "I will declare your name to my brothers and sisters; in the CHURCH, I will sing your praises." Heb 2:12 (Psa 22:22)

Ekklēsía/CHURCH in the Greek Old Testament, the Septuagint (LXX) 

YAHWEH gave me the two tablets of stone written by the finger of God; and on them were all the words which YAHWEH had spoken with you at the mountain from the midst of the fire on the day of the CHURCH. Deu 9:10 

"No Ammonite or Moabite may enter the CHURCH of YAHWEH; none of their descendants, even to the tenth generation, may ever enter the CHURCH of YAHWEH Deu 23:3 

"The sons of the third generation who are born to them may enter the CHURCH of YAHWEH. Deu 23:8 

Then Moses spoke in the hearing of all the CHURCH of Israel the words of this song, until they were complete: Deu 31:30 

Then King David rose to his feet and said, "Listen to me, CHURCH; I had intended to build a permanent home for the ark of the covenant of YAHWEH and for the footstool of our God. So I had made preparations to build it. 1Ch 28:2 

I also shook the folds of my robe and said, "May God likewise shake from his house and property everyone who doesn't keep this promise. May he be shaken out and have nothing! " The whole CHURCH said, "Amen," and they praised YAHWEH. Then the people did as they had promised. Neh 5:13 

The whole CHURCH that had returned from exile made shelters and lived in them. The Israelites had not celebrated like this from the days of Joshua son of Nun until that day. And there was tremendous joy. Neh 8:17 

At that time the book of Moses was read publicly to the people. The command was found written in it that no Ammonite or Moabite should ever enter the CHURCH of God, Neh 13:1 

I will proclaim your name to my brothers and sisters; I will praise you in the CHURCH.  Psa 22:22 

I will give praise in the great CHURCH because of you; I will fulfill my vows before those who fear you.  Psa 22:25 

I hate a church of evildoers, and I do not sit with the wicked.  Psa 26:5 

My foot stands on level ground; I will bless YAHWEH in the CHURCH.  Psa 26:12 

I will praise you in the great CHURCH; I will exalt you among many people. Psa 35:18 

I proclaim righteousness in the great CHURCH; see, I do not keep my mouth closed -- as you know, YAHWEH.  Psa 40:9 

YAHWEH, the heavens praise your wonders -- your faithfulness also -- in the CHURCH of the holy ones.  Psa 89:5 

Hallelujah! Sing to YAHWEH a new song, his praise in the CHURCH of the faithful.  Psa 149:1 

The adversary has seized all her precious belongings. She has even seen the nations enter her sanctuary -- those you had forbidden to enter your CHURCH.  Lam 1:10 

Gather the people; sanctify the CHURCH; assemble the aged; gather the infants, even babies nursing at the breast. Let the groom leave his bedroom, and the bride her honeymoon chamber.  Joel 2:16 

Therefore, there will be no one in the CHURCH of YAHWEH to divide the land by casting lots.  Mic 2:5 

2.
 'Now then, if you will indeed obey My voice and keep My covenant, then you shall be My own possession among all the peoples, for all the earth is Mine; and you shall be to Me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation.' These are the words that you shall speak to the sons of Israel." So, Moses came and called the elders of the people, and set before them all these words which YAHWEH had commanded him. Then all the people answered together and said, "All that YAHWEH has spoken we will do!" And Moses brought back the words of the people to YAHWEH. Exo 19:5-8 

Then Moses came and reported to the people all the words of YAHWEH and all the ordinances; and all the people answered with one voice and said, "All the words which YAHWEH has spoken we will do!" Exo 24:3 

3. 
And I will make you into a great nation (גּוֹי gôwy, Strongs H1471- nation, usually of Non-Hebrew people) , And I will bless you, And make your name great; And you shall be a blessing; And I will bless those who bless you, And the one who curses you I will curse. And in you all the families of the earth will be blessed. Gen 12:3 

No longer shall you be named Abram, But your name shall be Abraham; For I have made you the father of a multitude of nations[H1471]. "I will make you exceedingly fruitful, and I will make nations[H1471] of you, and kings will come from you. Gen 17:5-6

Now the sons of Israel journeyed from Rameses to Succoth, about six hundred thousand men on foot, aside from children. A mixed multitude also went up with them, along with flocks and herds, a very large number of livestock. Exo 12:38 

But if a stranger resides with you and celebrates the Passover to YAHWEH, all of his males are to be circumcised, and then he shall come near to celebrate it; and he shall be like a native of the land. But no uncircumcised male may eat it. "The same law shall apply to the native as to the stranger who resides among you Exo 12:49 

Praise YAHWEH, all Gentiles/Nations ; Sing His praises, all peoples! Psa 117:1 

When YAHWEH has compassion on Jacob and again chooses Israel, and settles them on their own land, then strangers will join them and attach themselves to the house of Jacob. Isa 14:1 

Don't let foreigners who commit themselves to YAHWEH say, YAHWEH will never let me be part of his people.  And don't let the eunuchs say, 'I'm a dried-up tree with no children and no future.' For this is what YAHWEH says: “I will bless those eunuchs who keep my Sabbath days holy and who choose to do what pleases me and commit their lives to me.  Also, the foreigners who join themselves to YAHWEH, To attend to His service and to love the NAME of YAHWEH, To be His servants, everyone who keeps the Sabbath so as not to profane it, And holds firmly to My covenant Even those I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices will be acceptable on My altar; For My house will be called a house of prayer for all the peoples." YAHWEH GOD, who gathers the dispersed of Israel, declares, "I will yet gather others to them, to those already gathered. Isa 56:3- 8

Jesus said to them, "The Sabbath was made for man (G444- All Humanity), and not man for the Sabbath. Mark 2:27 (Jesus did not say Sabbath made for only Jews but for All Humanity) 

Remember that you were at that time separate from Christ, excluded from the people of Israel, and strangers to the covenants of the promise, having no hope and without God in the world. ..So then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household. Eph 2:12,19

For he is not a Jew (of Judah) who is one outwardly, nor is circumcision that which is outward in the flesh. But he is a Jew who is one inwardly; and circumcision is of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter; and his praise is not from people, but from God. Rom 2:29

But if some of the branches were broken off, and you, being a wild olive, were grafted in among them and became partaker with them of the rich root of the olive tree,  Rom 11:17

4.
Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you? 1Co 3:16

However, you are not in the flesh but in the Spirit, if indeed the Spirit of God dwells in you. But if anyone does not have the Spirit of Christ, he does not belong to Him. Rom 8:9 

5.

Where does YAHWEH put His Name? 
YAHWEH manifested Himself in various times and situations but sometimes He would specify a place that He had placed His name there, meaning His presence was there. 

YAHWEH says "But you shall seek YAHWEH at the place which YAHWEH your God will choose from all your tribes, to establish His Name there for His dwelling, and you shall come there. Then it shall come about that the place in which YAHWEH your God will choose for His Name to dwell, there you shall bring everything that I command you: your burnt offerings and your sacrifices, your tithes and the contribution of your hand, and all your choice vowed offerings which you will vow to YAHWEH.” Deut 12:5,11 

YAHWEH sometimes moves where His name is to dwell.

Places YAHWEH has chosen to dwell
1.       The Garden of Eden

2.       Mt Sanai
3.       The Tabernacle
4.       The Temple
5.       Jesus/Yahshua (Emmanuel)
6.       Where 2 or 3 are gathered (now)
7.       The New Jerusalem (future)

The glory of YAHWEH dwelt on Mount Sinai, and the cloud covered it for six days; and on the seventh day He called to Moses from the midst of the cloud. Exo 24:16

You shall sacrifice the Passover to YAHWEH your God from the flock and the herd, in the place where YAHWEH chooses to establish His NAME. But only at the place where YAHWEH your God chooses to establish His name, you shall sacrifice the Passover in the evening at sunset, at the time that you came out of Egypt . You shall rejoice before YAHWEH your God, you, your son and your daughter, and your male and female slaves, and the Levite who is in your town, and the stranger, the orphan, and the widow who are in your midst, at the place where YAHWEH your God chooses to establish His NAME. Deut 16:2,6,11

you shall take some of the first of all the produce of the ground which you bring in from your land that YAHWEH your God gives you, and you shall put it in a basket and go to the place where YAHWEH your God chooses to establish His NAME. Deut 26:2

Go and tell David My servant, 'This is what YAHWEH says: "You shall not build a house for Me to dwell in; for I have not dwelt in a house since the day that I brought up Israel to this day, but I have gone from tent to tent and from one dwelling place to another.  "In all places where I have walked with all Israel, have I spoken a word with any of the judges of Israel, whom I commanded to shepherd My people, saying, 'Why have you not built Me a house of cedar?' 1Ch 17:4-6

But go now to My place which was in Shiloh, where I made My Name dwell at the beginning, and see what I did to it because of the wickedness of My people Israel. Jer 7:12

Jesus answered them, "Destroy this temple, and in three days I will raise it up." The Jews then said, "It took forty-six years to build this temple, andyet You will raise it up in three days?" But He was speaking about the temple of His body.  John 2:19-21 

Do you not know that you are a temple of God and that the Spirit of God dwells in you?   "For where two or three have gathered together in My name, I am there in their midst.  Mat 18:20

Or what agreement does the temple of God have with idols? For we are the temple of the living God; just as God said, "I WILL DWELL AMONG THEM AND WALK AMONG THEM; AND I WILL BE THEIR GOD, AND THEY SHALL BE MY PEOPLE. 2Co 6:16

So, then you are no longer strangers and foreigners, but you are fellow citizens with the saints, and are of God's household, having been built on the foundation of the apostles and prophets, Christ Jesus Himself being the cornerstone, in whom the whole building, being fitted together, is growing into a holy temple in YAHWEH, in whom you also are being built together into a dwelling of God in the Spirit. Eph 2:19- 22

And I saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a loud voice from the throne, saying, "Behold, the tabernacle of God is among the people, and He will dwell among them, and they shall be His people, and God Himself will be among them, I saw no temple in it, for YAHWEH God the Almighty and the Lamb are its temple.  Rev 21:2,3,22  (finally back to the Garden) 

 Various Scriptures Used To Say The Dietary Instructions Are No Longer Valid

I am not going to address Act 10 since I have written a lengthy blog about that already but I am going to look at these little verses in the Bible that seem to specifically talk about food that I have also used to justify doing away with YAHWEH's dietary instructions. 

Math 15:1-3,11

Then some Pharisees and scribes came to Jesus from Jerusalem and said,
"Why do Your disciples break the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread." And He answered and said to them, "Why do you yourselves also break the commandment of God for the sake of your tradition? 

It is not what enters the mouth that defiles the person, but what comes out of the mouth, that defiles the person.

I find it works best for me not to approach any passage in the Bible with the assumption that somewhere else the Bible clearly explains that God's Torah has been done away with, but to just take each passage on its own. In the passage where Jesus says that its not what a man eats that makes him unclean the topic in question is ritual washing of hands. The Pharisees ask about a Rabbinical law, the ritual washing of hands before eating , which is not found in God's Torah, and Jesus response corrects then and through out the chapter he constanly rebukes them for obeying man made rules instead of obeying God's Torah.

In context I cannot find any way to use this passage to say that Jesus taught we are not supposed to follow God's Torah, especially since He even affirms it by telling the Pharisees not to break it. Jesus statement about not being unclean in context is saying that eating with unwashed hands does not make you unclean. For me to make it say more than that is to insert my own predetermined beliefs.

Col 2:16 

Therefore, no one is to act as your judge in regard to food and drink, or in respect to a festival or a new moon, or a Sabbath day--

Repeating my mindset, I cannot apporach this passage with a predetermined view that somewhere else in the Bible there is a clear teaching that Torah has been done away with. What is this letter and passage about. Also since this is a letter from Paul it is helpful to know what is Pauls mindset toward the Torah

Here are just a few references of Paul’s attitude toward the Torah

Acts 21:24“...Then everybody will know there is no truth in these reports about you, but that you yourself [Paul]  are living in obedience to the Torah.”

Acts 24:14.Paul testifies he agrees with everything in the law and the prophets as mentioned in  “... I believe everything that agrees with the Torah and that is written in the Prophets,”

Paul’s writings were deep (very deep), so much so that they created confusion for many. In fact, he was falsely accused of preaching against Moses, of which Paul in Acts 24 went out of his way to disprove.

Acts 21:21 They have heard that you teach all the Jews who live among the Gentiles to turn away from Moses, telling them not to circumcise their children or live according to that prescribed by law (ethos) .

 An accusation that is still being spread about Paul today.  In 2 Pet 3, Peter warned against those who misrepresent Paul to mean lawlessness, so I want to be careful before I accuse Paul of opposing the Torah. 2Pe 3:16-17 ..in all his letters,.., in which there are some things that are hard to understand, which the untaught and unstable distort, as they do also the rest of the Scriptures, to their own destruction. Therefore,  you have been forewarned, be on your guard so that you may not be carried away by the error of the lawless and fall from your secure position.

So now I want to go through the train of thought in this chapter

Col 2:14-23 

having canceled the charge of our legal indebtedness, which stood against us and condemned us; he has taken it away, nailing it to the cross. And having disarmed the powers and authorities, he made a public spectacle of them, triumphing over them by the cross.  Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that are to come; which the reality,  is found in the Messiah. Do not let anyone who delights in false humility and the worship of angels disqualify you. Such a person also goes into great detail about what they have seen; they are puffed up with idle notions by their unspiritual mind. They have lost connection with the head, from whom the whole body, supported and held together by its ligaments and sinews, grows as God causes it to grow.

Since you died with Christ to the elemental spiritual forces of this world, why, as though you still belonged to the world, do you submit to its rules:  "Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"?  These rules, which have to do with things that are all destined to perish with use, are based on merely human commands and teachings. Such regulations indeed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.

Having the whole context of this passage I do not think that Paul , (who kept the Sabbaths and the Festivals) would classify YAHWEH's instructions as rules belonging to this world, taught by those who worship angels, human commands. There no clear teaching in this passage that the Torah is done away with or why. It is more likely and consistent that Colosse being a very large very pagan city, Paul is encouraging the minority believers to not feel bad if you are riducled for following the the Torah. As Jews/Believers were riducled all through time.  Yes the Sabbath and the Festivals are shadows of things to come. They are given to us to teach us and forewhasow what is to come. In the Messiah we find the reality and taste of the future age. In some ways Jesus took the future and started invading our present with the future. But the fullfillment of the Sabbath's and the Festivals is not yet come. 

Rom 14:14  

I am convinced, being fully persuaded in the Lord Jesus, that nothing is unclean in itself. But if anyone regards something as unclean, then for that person it is unclean. If your brother or sister is distressed because of food (broma), you are no longer acting in love. Do not by your food (broma) destroy someone for whom Christ died.

That verse by itself does not teach against the Dietary laws. The greek word for food - broma is never used to describe animals that are forbidden so there is no reason to assume that is what it means here. For the intended audience of this letter food  would be what God’s Word already defines as food according to Leviticus 11. There would be no reason for these believers to all of a sudden to start eating what God has not described as food in His word and the context of this letter clearly shows that the argument that was going on in Rome was eating food that had been sacrificed to idols. The argument was not over eating beef or pork. In order to make that argument I would have to come to this passage with the assumption that somewhere else in the Bible there was a clear teaching that said Gods' Instructions have been done away with and I would expect Paul to reference it or restate and explain the reasons to the Romans. Otherwise I am just making these verses say whatever I want them to say. 

The debate that happened here in Rome and at other places in the scriptures was always about someone trying to twist that what God's Word said we could eat had somehow become unclean, either by not washing your hands or where you bought it from or the cups or plate were not clean, or you will be more spiritual, etc. Also, at the beginning of this chapter Paul clearly said he was going to address arguments over opinions or doubtful matters. I do not believe Paul would put YAHWEH's Instructions in that category. 

Heb 9:9-10 

"This is an illustration for the present time, indicating that the gifts and sacrifices being offered were not able to clear the conscience of the worshiper. They are only a matter of food and drink and various ceremonial washings--external regulations applying until the time of the new order."

Hebrews chapter 9 is all about the sacrifice of the Messiah fulfilling the symbolism of the temple sacrifices. YAHWEH's dietary instructions are not the topic and this is clearly not a teaching that YAHWEH's instructions about food has been done away with. 

Heb 13:9 

Do not be misled by varied and strange teachings; for it is good for the heart to be strengthened by grace, not by foods, through which those who were so occupied were not benefited.

Immediately I feel that Paul would never classify YAHWEH's words as "varied and strange teachings". 

Chapter 13 Paul is summarizing things he talked about in his letter. This obviously refers back to people twisting God's words. There is no way to make this into a clear teaching that YAHWEH's Instructions about food have been done away with.

These next versus about food I think a very self expanatory. None of them consititute a clear teaching that YAHWEH has changed His mind on what He wants His creation to eat.  

1Co 8:8  

But food does not bring us near to God; we are no worse if we do not eat, and no better if we do.

1Co 8:13  

Therefore, if what I eat causes my brother or sister to fall into sin, I will never eat meat again, so that I will not cause them to fall.

1Ti 4:3 

They forbid people to marry and order them to abstain from certain foods, which God created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth.

I examined Acts 10 in a seperate blog and found it was not a teaching about changing what is food we should eat. I cannot find a clear teaching anywhere in the Bible that does that. I think the reason I thought YAHWEH had changed His mind about His dietary instructions comes from the my larger assumption that YAHWEH had changed His mind about all of His Instructions (Torah). I know that seems very inconsistent and contradictory to the same belief I carried that YAHWEH is the same yesterday, today and forever. But I have not yet found a clear teaching that the Torah has been done away with. I have found clear teachings that the curse of breaking the Torah has been done away with. I have found clear teachings that trying to keep the Torah will never save me. I do find in Ezekial (11:19-20 and 36:26-27)  that the new covenant will give me a new heart that will make me want to keep YAHWEH's Torah and I do read scriptures that say if I love YAHWEH,  I will keep His commanments, not for salvation but in the ways a child obeys their parent because they love and trust them. 

This is the journey I am on, to determine if the assumption in Christianity, that I was born into and have held all my life,  has any Biblical basis and where is this assumption clearly taught in the Bible. This assumption was so strong that I never once questioned it. No preacher at any Chruch I have ever been to has ever questioned this assumption. This assumption is woven so deep into my brain and life and environment that even questioning it makes me nervous and makes those around me think I have gone off the deep end. But once I began to sincerely question that assumption and put real effort into studying God's word, that assumption has began to crumble and I am beginning to see God's word in a whole different much more consistent way. Stories and themes from the Old Testament mesh and open up whole new understanding in the New Testament. Its a great jopurney and I invite you to participate with me, with your insights and questions and comments. 

Shalom

YAHWEH bless you, and keep you  Num 6:24

 

Shabbat

 

Because of the stories about Jesus and having conflict with religious leaders over how to do the Sabbath, there has been an unfortunate reflex, unintended I think by the gospel authors, that cast a negative atmosphere over the Sabbath and the guidelines for observing it as being legalistic or rule-oriented instead of God-oriented. And that's totally wrong. In Biblical history, it's so beautiful what the Sabbath means. YAHWEH’s instructions about the Sabbath are worthy of being followed just like parents establish guidelines for how we work as a family in our house should be followed: we don't yell at each other, we say "please", we share things. Those are rules, and it would be totally missing the point to call those rules legalistic?". So, to call YAHWEH’s instructions of how we should do family with Him “legalistic” misses the point.

 

YAHWEH says the Sabbath day is His Day. Six days I live (pretend I am) as master of my fate, in control of my own time. One day a week YAHWEH says I am to do that day the way He says do it. But it’s not for His good, in the end its for my good.

 

There's something beautiful when I stop the hustle and bustle, I stop acting like I’m the center of the universe or that my work is the center of the universe, or that my striving and work is keeping everything glued together and I simply dwell with my family and God.

 

Sabbath in the Hebrew Scriptures means a lot of things, but at its most basic is that “I stop”. The word Sabbath (“Shabbat”) means "stop". In Hebrew there are other words for rest. Like in English we think of laying down and relaxing and being rejuvenated. To do those things you have to Shabbat. But the word Shabbat, its basic meaning is to cease from, to stop.

 

The Sabbath command is repeated twice. The Bible gives different reasons for why I Shabbat, stop. They're not contradictory, but they're different. The Bible doesn't try to be an exact handbook on how to observe Shabbat. It's more interested in teaching me the meaning of Shabbat. Which is why the meaning of Shabbat is introduced on page 1 of the Bible. And in true meditation literature style, it doesn't come right out and tell me the meaning of Shabbat. It keeps developing. Its not until I am 70 chapters into the Torah, that I get a command about the Shabbat, by then If I have been reading and paying attention I already know a lot about what that seventh- day rest means. I have been very educated by Exodus 20. The Scriptures does tell me about the development of the Shabbat practice within the storyline of the Old Testament, but the practice of Shabbat is just one way to think about it, there's something way bigger going on, which is about this design of time all culminating in a seventh day, which is bigger than just what I do on Friday night. What I do on Friday nights is one of many symbolic narrative pointers to a larger theological idea.

 

The practice of the Friday sundown to the Seventh day sundown (Sabbath) as its described in the Scriptures is just one of the  ways that the Sabbath idea is explored and talked about and developed.  A little confusing is that Sabbath (Shabbat) word is also used to describe all Holy days. There are many Sabbaths (Lev 23) and there are many ways and words that the “all culminating seventh-day” concept gets developed. First, what do I mean by the “all culminating seventh day” concept. Well, that concept starts with the first Sabbath in the Bible, the one in Genesis 1.  There is so much going on in Genesis 1. In many ways Genesis 1 tells the whole story or outlines the whole story of the gospel. But that is such a large topic I am going to save that for another blog.

 

At the moment I am looking at only the Sabbath day in the creation story. In the creation story, every day is defined by “there was evening and there was morning” except for the seventh day is not defined that way. There is not a stated "evening and morning" for the seventh day.  It’s as if the seventh day never ends. Right at the beginning, the concept of eternally being with God is tied in with being the seventh day. Of course, humans blow it and we lose the chance for that to continue and everything else in the course of the Bible is to bring us back to the garden of Eden to dwell with God for eternity. I am given several different reminders of this and several ways to experientially practice this anticipated restoring of what we lost. The seventh day as the culmination of history. A theme unifying the whole storyline of the Bible. And the weekly seventh day Shabbat points to it, but so does the Year of Release and so does the Jubilee as do all the Feasts.

 

Another interesting thing is the Sabbath is one of the Ten Commandments (actually “Ten Words”) but it’s the one commandment that Christianity explicitly overlooks. Western Christianity repeatedly affirms the other nine but the one about the Sabbath gets completely ignored or in some Christian traditions replaced by another day (Decree of Constantine in 321AD, 336Ad according to Catholic Catechisms)¹  or reinterpreted as simply an allegory. When Christianity does that, it loses the deep meditation and theological revelations that the Bible brings through the Sabbath.

 

The 10 Commandments (Words) appear twice in the Bible, Exodus 20 and Deut 5. Both say "Remember the Sabbath day and keep it holy." (set apart with honor). How do I remember it? I keep it. And as I keep it, I am remembering it. But there's a little difference. In Exodus 20:11, it says do to it because YAHWEH did it, then in Deut. 5 it says "do it and remember that I was in slavery and also so that my male servant and my female servant may rest along with me." Paul talks about being slaves to sin. That whole identity of slavery is super crucial from Exodus narrative on. As the Sabbath concept develops through the story of the Bible, I discover in different stories that there are different ways and angles and facets that reveal so many important principles and tie together the whole Bible. One of the main facets is the fabric of creation as leading towards a great goal, where humans imitate God and join Him in ceasing from work and labor. But there's going to be another facet that's all about being enslaved to our labor and slaves to something. So, the seventh day is the time to celebrate our liberation from slavery so that we can rest with God. There is also themes of learning and demonstrating trust. Throughout the Bible, God sends little tests to His people to see if they will trust Him. Gather manna six days a week but even though you are in the desert with no water and no food do not gather on the 7^th day. This is before the Sabbath instructions have been given but the rhythm of 7 that started in Genesis is given to the newly rescued Israel. A test, will I inconvenience myself and cease from my labor and thinking I am the center and cause of all and instead practice recognizing one day a week that YAHWEH is my true provider and practice and demonstrate I can trust Him.

The Sabbath (Shabbat) is a beautiful and big theme. The Sabbath Rest is the idea that all of history will culminate in a time where humans and God will rule together on earth and rest in peace. The weekly Sabbath, the weekly celebration to recognize that this reality is coming and it’s the heartbeat behind all of the festivals in the Biblical Calendar.  Jesus started his ministry on the Sabbath day reading from the scroll of Isaiah  saying the ultimate Sabbath, the ultimate Jubilee would come through Him, and slaves will be set free and debts forgiven. In Mathew 12 Jesus calls Himself the Lord of the Sabbath. He is claiming that He is the one who brings us back into fellowship with God and the ultimate rest and will lead God's people to the ultimate Jubilee., the Sabbath day that will last forever. 

 

Is the weekly Sabbath inconvenient? Yes, but as Bible scholar Dr. Tim Mackie says, it’s the most basic building block for understanding time and space and the rhythm of YAHWEH’s universe. And at some point, the Sabbath’s, all of them, become a source of joy and reflection and meditation and revelation. It’s a physical practice that develops my spiritual muscle of trust and dependence.

 

There is so much more to explore about YAHWEH’s Sabbath’s, but I hope these initial thoughts will give you reason to reconsider YAHWEH’s Sabbath and help you find why He commanded it.

 

Shalom.

 

NOTES

1. About 100 years before Christianity, Egyptian Mithraists introduced the festival of Sunday, dedicated to worshiping the sun, into the Roman Empire. Later, as Christianity grew, church leaders wished to increase the numbers of the church. In order to make the gospel more attractive to non-Christians, pagan customs were incorporated into the church's ceremonies. The custom of Sunday worship was welcomed by Christians who desired to differentiate themselves from the Jews, whom they hated because of the Jews' rejection of the Savior. The first day of the week began to be recognized as both a religious and civil holiday. By the end of the second century, Christians considered it sinful to work on Sunday.

The Roman emperor Constantine, a former sun-worshiper, professed conversion to Christianity. Constantine named himself Bishop of the Catholic Church and enacted  the first civil law regarding Sunday observance in A.D. 321.

“On the venerable day of the sun let the magistrate and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed. In the country however, persons engaged in agricultural work may freely and lawfully continue their pursuits; because it often happens that another day is not so suitable for grain growing or for vine planting; lest by neglecting the proper moment for such operations the bounty of heaven should be lost.” - Schaff's History of the Christian Church, vol. III, chap. 75.

Four years later, in A.D. 325, Pope Sylvester officially named Sunday "the Lord's Day," and in A.D. 338, Eusebius, the court bishop of Constantine, wrote, "All things whatsoever that it was the duty to do on the Sabbath (the seventh day of the week) we (Constantine, Eusebius, and other bishops) have transferred to the Lord's Day (the first day of the week) as more appropriately belonging to it."

In the Convert's Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, 

Q. Which is the Sabbath day?
A. Saturday is the Sabbath day.

Q. Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday?
A. We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church, in the Council of Laodicea, (AD 336) transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday....

Q. Why did the Catholic Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday, because Christ rose from the dead on a Sunday, and the Holy Ghost descended upon the Apostles on a Sunday.

Q. By what authority did the Church substitute Sunday for Saturday?
A. The Church substituted Sunday for Saturday by the plenitude of that divine power which Jesus Christ bestowed upon her!
- Rev. Peter Geiermann, C.SS.R., (1946), p. 50.

In Catholic Christian Instructed,

Q. Has the Church power to make any alterations in the commandments of God?
A. ...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.

- The Catholic Christian Instructed in the Sacraments, Sacrifices, Ceremonies, and Observances of the Church By Way of Question and Answer, RT Rev. Dr. Challoner, p. 204.

In An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine,

Q. How prove you that the church hath power to command feasts and holy days?
A. 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.

Q. How prove you that?
A. Because by keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the Church's power to ordain feasts, and to command them under sin; and by not keeping the rest of the feasts by her commanded, they again deny, in fact, the same power.
- Rev. Henry Tuberville, D.D. (R.C.), (1833), page 58.

In A Doctrinal Catechism,

Q. 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.
- Rev. Stephen Keenan, (1851), p. 174.

In the Catechism of the Council of Trent,

The Church of God has thought it well to transfer the celebration and observance of the Sabbath to Sunday.
- p 402, second revised edition (English), 1937. (First published in 1566)

In the Augsburg Confession,

They 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, they say, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the ten commandments.
- Art. 28.

"For centuries millions of Christians have gathered to worship God on the first day of the week. Graciously He has accepted this worship. He has poured out His blessings upon Christian people as they have sought to serve Him. However, as one searches the Scriptures, he is forced to recognize that Sunday is not a day of God's appointment... It has no foundation in Scripture, but has arisen entirely as a result of custom," Frank H. Yost, Ph.D. in The Early Christian Sabbath.

 God, "with whom there is no variation or shadow of turning"
James 1:17

For I YAHWEH do no not change
Malachi 3:6 

 "My covenant I will not break, nor alter the word that has gone out of My lips"
Psalm 89:34.

 "I know that everything God does will endure forever; nothing can be added to it and nothing taken from it"
Ecclesiastes 3:14.

 "The works of his hands are faithful and just; all his precepts are trustworthy. They are steadfast for ever and ever, done in faithfulness and uprightness"

Psalm 111:7-8.

 
The gospel writers record Jesus and the apostles going to the synagogue on Sabbath as their practice (Luke 4:16 ). Jesus said, "I have kept My Father's commandments" (John 15:10). The women who went to anoint His body after his death "rested on the Sabbath according to the commandment" (Luke 23:56).

 'And he will speak against the Most High and wear down the saints of the Highest One, and he will intend to make alterations in times and in law;
Dan 7:25