Well, hello again everybody.
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It's good to have you here
once again to continue our study
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on The Bible or Tradition.
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And today our topic is
titled, Sabbath Controversies
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and Tradition. It's presentation
number seven in this series,
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The Bible or Tradition.
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But before we enter a study of
God's Word, we want to do what
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we also do, and that is to
ask for the Lord's presence.
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And so I invite you to bow
your heads with me as we pray
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to ask God to
be present with us.
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Father in heaven, we come before
Your throne again this evening
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knowing that our wisdom
is insufficient to understand
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and grasp the great
things from Your Holy Word.
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Therefore we come
imploring divine wisdom.
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We ask that You will help us to
handle Your Word appropriately,
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and correctly. We ask that
You will open hearts and minds.
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We're going to study a
very important subject today,
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and I ask that You will
not only give us understanding,
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but that You will give us a
willingness to live in harmony
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with what we study.
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And we thank You
for hearing our prayer,
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for we ask it in
Jesus' name, Amen.
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The most revered
institution in Judaism
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is the seventh day Sabbath.
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For the rabbi's the Sabbath
was equal in importance to all
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of the other precepts
that Moses wrote combined.
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In fact, one rabbi once
stated, He who observes the
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Sabbath is kept from sin.
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Another rabbi wrote, If Israel
were to keep two Sabbaths,
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according to the laws
thereof, they would be
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redeemed immediately.
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And Rabbi Levi, a very famous
rabbi once stated, If Israel
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kept the Sabbath properly, even
for one day, the Son of David
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the Son of David would come.
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Why, because it is equivalent
to all the commandments.
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But the question that we
want to ask today in our study
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is whether the Sabbath of the
rabbi's, the Sabbath that these
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rabbi's mentioned, is
really the Biblical Sabbath
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or the Sabbath of the Lord,
or is it a different Sabbath
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than the one that
we find in Scripture?
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The rabbinical Sabbath is
different than the Sabbath
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that we find in
the writings of Moses.
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I want to read a
statement from Robert Johnston,
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who is a
Seventh-day Adventist historian.
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He taught at the
Seminary at Andrews University
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for several years.
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He's an expert in the literature
that was written in the
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Intertestimonial Period.
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That is between the
end of the Old Testament
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and the beginning
of the New Testament.
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And this is what he had
to say about the transmission
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of oral
tradition by the rabbi's.
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It says in his book, The Sabbath
In Scripture and History,
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page 70.
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We've studied this
before by using other writings.
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It's interesting. You have
this same concept again that
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you have a process of
transmission from one generation
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to another, beginning with
Moses through the great assembly
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in the times of Ezra, all the
way till the times of Christ.
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He also says on
page 70 of the same book:
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And for that reason the
oral traditions were eventually
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codified in two Talmud's.
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That is the collection of
oral laws, and oral traditions
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that had been handed down.
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One is known as the Babylonian
Talmud, and the other one is
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known as the Palestinian Talmud.
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Basically the oral laws that
supposedly had been passed along
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by Moses, throughout the
generations all the way to the
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times of Christ were
placed in a book or in a Code.
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Now the Old Testament, if
you read carefully, has very few
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Sabbath prohibitions.
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Actually, it has
four Sabbath prohibitions.
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That is the written
books of the Old Testament.
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The first thing that
is forbidden is work.
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Secondly, kindling a
fire. Third, trading.
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That is doing
business on the Sabbath.
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And 4. Cooking. But the Rabbi's
expanded these prohibitions
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into an entire system
of rules and regulations.
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On the basis of Deuteronomy 25:3
which, by the way, in context
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has nothing to
do with the Sabbath.
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They established that there were
39 major activities which were
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forbidden on the Sabbath.
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But each of these 39 were
subdivided into smaller laws,
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into an almost endless list
of prohibitions of things that
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could not be
done on the Sabbath.
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Now I'd like to read a statement
here from Deuteronomy 25:3,
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and actually we'll begin
at verse 1 through verse 3,
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and you tell me if
this passage has anything
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to do with the Sabbath.
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The only thing that
it has is the number 39.
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Now notice what it says.
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So just to be safe, they
said, you could only give
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an individual 39 blows.
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In other words, you can
only beat a criminal 39 times.
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And so, basically, they
said this applies also to rules
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regarding Sabbath observance.
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And so they came up with a
list of 39 things that cannot be
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performed on the Sabbath,
and I'd like to read those.
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I'm actually reading now
from the Talmud. It says:
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That means thirty-nine.
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Now here comes the list of
prohibitions, which are not
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found in Scripture, but
are based on oral tradition.
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What do you think?
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Are any of those
things mentioned as Sabbath
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prohibitions in
Scripture? Absolutely not!
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In fact Deuteronomy 25:3
is not even talking about the
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Sabbath, and yet the
rabbi's said by extension,
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Deuteronomy 25:3 is actually
speaking about prohibitions
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of things that you
cannot do on the Sabbath.
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Now some of the rules that
the rabbi's added to the Sabbath
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to protect it from being
broken, were the following...
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And you're going to snicker
at some of these, but these were
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actual laws that the rabbi's
said were contained in the
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oral tradition, and they said
they're contained in principle
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in Scripture as well.
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But they're not
contained in Scripture.
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Now notice I'm going to
share some of these with you.
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You could not eat a fruit on
the ground that you found under
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a tree because it might
have fallen on the Sabbath.
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You could not remove an
egg from a nest on the Sabbath,
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but you could protect
it until after the Sabbath
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when it could be eaten.
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Instrumental music was
forbidden on the Sabbath.
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If your house caught fire on
the Sabbath you could save life,
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but you could not save
any property in the house.
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All sacred books could be saved
from the fire, and enough food
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and drink for the
remaining Sabbath meals.
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It was a cardinal offense
to tilt a lamp in order to make
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more oil run toward the
wick because this would make it
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burn brighter, which
was the sin of kindling.
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You could not read by the
light of a lamp on the Sabbath.
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You could not touch money, or
any of the tools of your trade,
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even if you did not
intend to work with them.
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Climbing a tree, swimming,
clapping the hands, slapping
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the thighs, and stamping
the feet were forbidden.
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Burials and weddings could
not take place on the Sabbath.
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Writing was
forbidden on the Sabbath.
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You could not drag a chair
across the floor and make a
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furrow with it if you intended
to do so, but if you did not
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intend to do so it was allowed.
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You may not directly carry a
stone, but you were permitted
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to lift up the child, even
if he had the stone in his hand.
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So you can imagine, you
know, just tell the child,
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Pick up the stone,
and so that way you could
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transport the stone.
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Here's another one: treatment
of non-mortal ailments,
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and handicaps could not
be treated on the Sabbath.
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But an eye salve could be
placed on the eye before sundown
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on Friday, or a plaster could
be placed on the wound so that
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the healing
continued on the Sabbath.
00:11:50.82\00:11:52.52
If a deer wandered into your
house on the Sabbath, one man
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could not trap it,
but two could do so.
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You could not
tithe on the Sabbath.
00:11:59.64\00:12:02.09
No Jew was allowed to travel
more than 2,000 cubits beyond
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the city limits where he lived.
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Now notice how they
escaped from that prescription.
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To mitigate the 2,000 cubit
limit, one need only deposit
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enough food for two
meals at 2,000 cubits distance,
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and declare the
place his temporary abode.
00:12:21.64\00:12:24.51
And then from
there he could travel an
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additional 2,000 cubits.
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So what do you think about this?
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Is there any inkling in
the Bible of any of these
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rules and
regulations? Absolutely not!
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So the question is,
Where did they come from?
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They did not come from
the written Scriptures.
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They were prescriptions that
were established by the rabbi's
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by oral tradition that were
passed along, supposedly from
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the days of Moses, from
generation to generation.
00:12:51.88\00:12:54.87
And they said, These
rules are as important to obey
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as the writings of Moses.
00:12:59.47\00:13:01.98
Now of all of the theological
controversies that Jesus had,
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there was no greater controversy
and conflict with the
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denominations of His
day, than over the Sabbath.
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In fact the religious leaders
despised Jesus because He did
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not keep their Sabbath.
00:13:20.42\00:13:22.66
Some evangelical scholars
have said that Jesus actually
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broke the Sabbath.
00:13:26.35\00:13:27.38
But the question is, did
Jesus break the Bible Sabbath?
00:13:27.41\00:13:32.10
I don't think Jesus
broke the Bible Sabbath.
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In fact I know Jesus did
not break the Bible Sabbath.
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But Jesus did break
the Sabbath of the rabbi's.
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He broke the Sabbath of oral
tradition, because that was not
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God's Sabbath, that was
the Sabbath of the theologians.
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Now Jesus, the cases of
individuals that He healed
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on the Sabbath
were chronic cases.
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For example, you
have an individual who
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had been born blind.
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Could Jesus have
waited until after the Sabbath
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to heal the blind man?
00:14:08.43\00:14:09.56
Of course He could have.
00:14:09.59\00:14:10.80
A paralytic for 38 years.
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Would he have died if Jesus
had waited just until sundown
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to heal him? Absolutely not!
00:14:17.91\00:14:19.65
A woman who could not
straighten out for 18 years.
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Could Jesus have waited until
sundown to heal this woman?
00:14:23.96\00:14:27.79
She wouldn't
have died. Of course!
00:14:27.82\00:14:29.43
A man with a withered hand.
00:14:29.46\00:14:31.34
I mean, could Jesus have
waited until after the Sabbath
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to have healed this
withered hand? Of course.
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And, then, of course, He
healed Peter's mother-in-law
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from the flu. She probably would
have recovered even if Jesus
00:14:40.83\00:14:44.64
had not healed her, but
Jesus wanted to alleviate her
00:14:44.67\00:14:47.58
suffering on the Sabbath.
00:14:47.61\00:14:49.67
Now Jesus said that
it was lawful to do these
00:14:49.70\00:14:53.02
things on the Sabbath.
00:14:53.05\00:14:54.08
The scribes and the Pharisees
said that it was unlawful
00:14:54.11\00:14:58.29
for Jesus to do these
things on the Sabbath.
00:14:58.32\00:15:00.69
And, of course, the critical
question is this: on what basis
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did the scribes and the
Pharisees say that it was
00:15:05.39\00:15:08.45
unlawful, and on what basis did
Jesus say that what He was doing
00:15:08.48\00:15:13.33
was lawful? In other words,
what was the source of authority
00:15:13.36\00:15:17.46
for the scribes and Pharisees
to say that what Jesus did
00:15:17.49\00:15:20.90
wasn't lawful, and what was the
standard that Jesus used to say
00:15:20.93\00:15:24.89
that what He was
doing was lawful?
00:15:24.92\00:15:27.75
The fact is folks, that there
is nowhere in the Old Testament
00:15:27.78\00:15:32.08
where we are told that it is
wrong to alleviate suffering on
00:15:32.11\00:15:35.87
the Sabbath, or to heal someone
who is sick on the Sabbath.
00:15:35.90\00:15:40.41
There is nowhere in the written
scriptures of the Old Testament
00:15:40.44\00:15:43.58
any prohibition to
alleviate suffering and sickness
00:15:43.61\00:15:47.85
on the Sabbath. In fact, Isaiah
58, the last few verses, say
00:15:47.88\00:15:53.85
that the Sabbath is a special
day to alleviate suffering,
00:15:53.88\00:15:57.12
to visit prisoners, to feed
the hungry, and to clothe those
00:15:57.15\00:16:01.00
who are naked, and
those who are afflicted.
00:16:01.03\00:16:03.61
In other words, Isaiah
58 says that it is lawful to
00:16:03.64\00:16:08.27
do good on the Sabbath.
00:16:08.30\00:16:09.95
So Jesus was obeying Isaiah 58.
00:16:09.98\00:16:13.62
Let me ask you, the laws
of the scribes and Pharisees,
00:16:13.65\00:16:17.16
were they making the
written scriptures of no effect?
00:16:17.19\00:16:21.43
Of course they were!
00:16:21.46\00:16:22.51
Jesus was saying, Isaiah 58
says it is alright to do good
00:16:22.54\00:16:27.24
on the Sabbath. It is lawful
to do good on the Sabbath.
00:16:27.27\00:16:29.58
You say that I can't.
00:16:29.61\00:16:31.00
I'm in harmony with the written
Scriptures and you are not,
00:16:31.03\00:16:34.19
because you are
following your oral traditions.
00:16:34.22\00:16:37.63
Now let's take an example
of something that Jesus did,
00:16:37.66\00:16:45.01
or the disciples of Jesus
rather, did on the Sabbath
00:16:45.04\00:16:47.66
that created a great
theological conflict.
00:16:47.69\00:16:51.02
You remember that one Sabbath
Jesus and His disciples were
00:16:51.05\00:16:55.56
walking through a field,
and His disciples were hungry.
00:16:55.59\00:16:58.86
And so the Bible says in Matthew
12 that His disciples plucked
00:16:58.89\00:17:04.76
some ears of grain, and they
started eating on the Sabbath.
00:17:04.79\00:17:08.64
Now according to Sam
Bacchiocchi, who actually went
00:17:08.67\00:17:13.29
to the Pontifical
Gregorian University in Rome
00:17:13.33\00:17:16.59
and wrote his dissertation
on the Sabbath, stated that by
00:17:16.63\00:17:21.34
doing this the disciples were
breaking four rabbinical rules.
00:17:21.37\00:17:26.05
First of all they were
reaping by picking the ears.
00:17:26.08\00:17:30.03
Secondly they were threshing,
because they would have to take
00:17:30.07\00:17:32.89
the grain off of the ears.
00:17:32.92\00:17:34.43
Third they were winnowing,
which they were separating
00:17:34.47\00:17:38.43
the chaff from the good grain.
00:17:38.46\00:17:40.80
And number four, they
were preparing a meal.
00:17:40.84\00:17:44.35
In other words, they were
breaking four rabbinical rules
00:17:44.38\00:17:48.29
by what they did on the Sabbath.
00:17:48.32\00:17:50.40
In other words, they were
accused by the scribes and
00:17:50.44\00:17:54.14
Pharisees of
breaking the Sabbath.
00:17:54.17\00:17:56.45
But were they really
breaking the Biblical Sabbath?
00:17:56.48\00:18:00.19
Folks, the Bible does
forbid harvesting your fields
00:18:00.22\00:18:03.93
on the Sabbath for
commercial purposes.
00:18:03.96\00:18:05.78
But there's nowhere in Scripture
that would forbid an individual
00:18:05.81\00:18:09.82
to pick, or pluck an ear of
grain in order to satisfy hunger
00:18:09.85\00:18:15.24
on the Holy Sabbath.
00:18:15.27\00:18:16.55
That came from the rules that
had been established by oral
00:18:16.58\00:18:20.31
tradition by the
scribes and the Pharisees.
00:18:20.34\00:18:23.15
The question is, how did Jesus
answer the accusation of the
00:18:23.18\00:18:27.60
scribes and Pharisees
against His disciples?
00:18:27.64\00:18:30.58
The answer is very simple.
00:18:30.61\00:18:32.78
Not only on this occasion, but
on other occasions, Jesus quoted
00:18:32.82\00:18:37.25
Scripture to show that what they
were teaching was not Biblical,
00:18:37.28\00:18:41.73
and what He was
teaching was Biblical.
00:18:41.76\00:18:45.25
Let me give you three examples.
00:18:45.28\00:18:47.31
In Mark 2:25-27 the Lord
Jesus used two texts from the
00:18:47.34\00:18:52.63
Old Testament to defend
what His disciples were doing.
00:18:52.67\00:18:57.93
He used 1 Samuel 21:6
where David entered and he ate
00:18:57.96\00:19:02.76
the shewbread, even though
the Old Testament said that only
00:19:02.79\00:19:06.11
the Priests could
eat the shewbread.
00:19:06.14\00:19:07.59
And then Jesus also quoted
Genesis 2 where it says that
00:19:07.63\00:19:12.61
God made the Sabbath for man.
00:19:12.64\00:19:14.60
He made man, and then He
made the Sabbath for man.
00:19:14.63\00:19:16.89
And so in Mark 2 it says
the Sabbath was made for man,
00:19:16.92\00:19:20.55
and not man for the Sabbath.
00:19:20.58\00:19:22.22
Jesus is referring to the
written Scriptures to defend
00:19:22.25\00:19:26.51
the behavior of His disciples.
00:19:26.54\00:19:28.23
In the case of the woman
who was bent over and could not
00:19:28.26\00:19:32.06
straighten out
for eighteen years...
00:19:32.09\00:19:33.66
That story is found in Luke 13.
00:19:33.69\00:19:36.24
Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 5:14.
00:19:36.27\00:19:38.74
He said to them, which
of you if you have an ox
00:19:38.78\00:19:41.97
won't take the ox, out of
mercy for him on the Sabbath,
00:19:42.00\00:19:45.65
so that he can
go and drink water?
00:19:45.69\00:19:47.66
That comes directly
from Deuteronomy 5:14.
00:19:47.69\00:19:52.22
Jesus is using written Scripture
to defend His point of view.
00:19:52.26\00:19:57.79
And then, in another case,
in John 7:22, 23, Jesus uses the
00:19:57.83\00:20:03.33
example of circumcision in
the Old Testament to defend
00:20:03.36\00:20:07.48
His healing of the
paralytic in John 5.
00:20:07.51\00:20:11.20
He says, Listen, if an
individual is born, and eight
00:20:11.23\00:20:15.16
days later falls on the Sabbath,
the law says that you're
00:20:15.19\00:20:18.03
supposed to circumcise
that individual the eighth day.
00:20:18.06\00:20:20.86
And so if it's the Sabbath
you will circumcise that child
00:20:20.89\00:20:24.96
even if it's on the Sabbath.
00:20:24.99\00:20:26.58
And so you are accusing Me
because I heal someone on the
00:20:26.61\00:20:31.29
Sabbath, when you are
willing to circumcise someone
00:20:31.32\00:20:34.51
on the Sabbath. And so Jesus
is using Scripture to defend
00:20:34.54\00:20:39.89
His observance of the Sabbath.
00:20:39.92\00:20:42.02
Jesus made it clear
that in not helping the needy
00:20:42.05\00:20:46.47
the Pharisees were
actually breaking the Sabbath,
00:20:46.50\00:20:49.36
while He was
keeping the Sabbath.
00:20:49.39\00:20:51.49
In other words, their
tradition had made of no effect
00:20:51.52\00:20:55.41
the written word of God.
00:20:55.44\00:20:57.05
Their rules were intended
on protecting the Sabbath,
00:20:57.08\00:21:01.48
but actually their rules
led them to break the Sabbath
00:21:01.52\00:21:05.92
that is written
in Holy Scripture.
00:21:05.96\00:21:08.20
Actually, the scribes
and the Pharisees had several
00:21:08.23\00:21:12.69
interesting things in
their observance of the Sabbath.
00:21:12.73\00:21:17.16
First of all their Sabbath
was a counterfeit Sabbath.
00:21:17.19\00:21:20.46
Would you agree
that their Sabbath was a
00:21:20.49\00:21:22.68
counterfeit Sabbath?
00:21:22.71\00:21:23.74
Because it wasn't
the Biblical Sabbath.
00:21:23.77\00:21:26.20
Was their Sabbath
a man made Sabbath?
00:21:26.24\00:21:28.82
Their Sabbath was a
man made Sabbath. Yes!
00:21:28.85\00:21:31.87
Was their Sabbath based on
human tradition? Yes, it was.
00:21:31.90\00:21:36.18
Did they create their
Sabbath rather than God?
00:21:36.22\00:21:40.08
They most certainly did.
00:21:40.11\00:21:41.28
Were they practicing false
worship by their observance
00:21:41.31\00:21:45.58
of the Sabbath made by
man, instead of made by God?
00:21:45.61\00:21:48.94
Absolutely! Now you say,
why do you bring all of this up?
00:21:48.98\00:21:52.33
There's a very specific reason.
00:21:52.37\00:21:54.70
As Seventh-day Adventists
we believe that the great issue
00:21:54.73\00:21:59.81
in the final controversy
in this world is going to be
00:21:59.85\00:22:04.08
the commandments of God
versus the commandments of men,
00:22:04.12\00:22:08.73
and true worship and false
worship; the genuine Sabbath
00:22:08.76\00:22:13.33
of the Lord and a
counterfeit Sabbath.
00:22:13.37\00:22:16.30
Now the question is, will the
final conflict involve a false
00:22:16.34\00:22:21.30
Sabbath and a true Sabbath?
00:22:21.33\00:22:22.83
The answer is yes.
00:22:22.86\00:22:25.18
Now listen carefully, the only
difference between the times of
00:22:25.21\00:22:30.11
Jesus and the end time, is that
the Pharisees and the scribes
00:22:30.14\00:22:35.01
kept the Sabbath
in the wrong way.
00:22:35.04\00:22:37.50
And yet it was a human Sabbath
because they created it that
00:22:37.54\00:22:42.56
way, and they kept
it in their own way.
00:22:42.60\00:22:45.00
At the end of time we believe
that Scripture indicates that
00:22:45.04\00:22:49.05
the Christian world
will keep the wrong day,
00:22:49.08\00:22:52.44
but the principle is the same.
00:22:52.47\00:22:54.84
It doesn't matter whether you
keep the Sabbath in the wrong
00:22:54.87\00:22:57.47
way, because the Sabbath
is made by a human being;
00:22:57.50\00:23:01.15
or you keep the wrong day,
because if you keep the wrong
00:23:01.18\00:23:04.34
day, you're still keeping a
day that God did not create.
00:23:04.37\00:23:07.50
You're keeping a day
that man created for worship.
00:23:07.54\00:23:11.26
The principle, in
other words, is the same.
00:23:11.30\00:23:14.57
So basically the conflict
in Christ's day is the same
00:23:14.60\00:23:19.46
conflict that is going
to exist at the end of time.
00:23:19.49\00:23:22.67
The conflict is between
the Sabbath of the Bible,
00:23:22.70\00:23:26.07
and a Sabbath that has
been created by human tradition.
00:23:26.11\00:23:29.93
It is between keeping the
Sabbath in honor of the Creator,
00:23:29.96\00:23:33.74
the Sabbath of the Bible; and
keeping the counterfeit Sabbath
00:23:33.77\00:23:37.19
which is
practicing false worship.
00:23:37.23\00:23:38.88
Because you're keeping the day
that was established not by God,
00:23:38.91\00:23:42.97
but by human tradition.
00:23:43.02\00:23:44.69
Now it's interesting as we
examine the gospels that the
00:23:44.73\00:23:50.40
Pharisees not only broke God's
Sabbath by abstaining from doing
00:23:50.43\00:23:54.86
good on the Sabbath, but
they also intended to kill
00:23:54.90\00:23:58.71
Jesus Christ on the Sabbath.
00:23:58.74\00:24:00.54
You can read that in several
places: for example, Mark 3:6.
00:24:00.58\00:24:04.71
We won't go there now.
00:24:04.74\00:24:06.28
Matthew 12:14, and John 5:14
says that they wanted to get rid
00:24:06.31\00:24:12.51
of Jesus. They wanted to
kill the Lord Jesus for healing
00:24:12.55\00:24:15.44
people on the Sabbath.
00:24:15.47\00:24:16.50
Now it's interesting, irony
of ironies folks, they condemned
00:24:16.53\00:24:20.46
Jesus for healing on the
Sabbath, but they wanted to kill
00:24:20.50\00:24:24.44
on the Sabbath because
they thought He was not
00:24:24.47\00:24:27.30
keeping the Sabbath
the way it should be kept.
00:24:27.33\00:24:30.09
Was their Sabbath making the
law that says, Thou shalt not
00:24:30.12\00:24:36.50
kill, of none
effect? Absolutely!
00:24:36.53\00:24:39.43
They were not only
destroying the Biblical Sabbath,
00:24:39.47\00:24:42.51
but they were violating
by intending to kill Jesus
00:24:42.54\00:24:45.51
on the Sabbath for what He
did, they were violating the
00:24:45.55\00:24:48.32
commandment that
says, Thou shalt not kill.
00:24:48.35\00:24:52.34
Now does this ring a bell
when we come to the end time?
00:24:52.38\00:24:56.08
Is there going to be a death
decree against God's people?
00:24:56.12\00:25:00.43
Yes. In fact most of the
Christian world, with what I'm
00:25:00.46\00:25:03.85
going to share now, they
would say, Ah, this is never
00:25:03.88\00:25:07.24
going to happen.
That's impossible!
00:25:07.27\00:25:09.03
You know, we live
in a civilized world.
00:25:09.07\00:25:11.05
But, you know, the heart of man,
without the influence of the
00:25:11.09\00:25:15.46
Spirit of God,
can be very cruel.
00:25:15.50\00:25:17.39
As Seventh-day Adventists, we
have taught that Sabbath keepers
00:25:17.42\00:25:21.90
will be accused at the
end time of being legalists.
00:25:21.94\00:25:25.53
Aren't we accused of
being legalists because
00:25:25.56\00:25:27.36
we keep the Sabbath?
00:25:27.39\00:25:28.42
But you know there's no
worse legalism than saying,
00:25:28.45\00:25:33.81
you either keep the
Sabbath or we'll kill you.
00:25:33.84\00:25:35.64
And so people keep the Sabbath,
not because they love the Lord,
00:25:35.67\00:25:39.30
Sunday because
they love the Lord,
00:25:39.33\00:25:41.44
but they keep Sunday because
they're afraid of being what?
00:25:41.48\00:25:44.41
Because they're
afraid of being killed.
00:25:44.45\00:25:46.20
And when I say the Sabbath,
I'm talking about the Sabbath
00:25:46.23\00:25:48.51
that the Christian
world believes is the Sabbath,
00:25:48.54\00:25:50.71
which is not the
Biblical Sabbath, it's Sunday.
00:25:50.75\00:25:52.85
So there's no worse legalism
than saying, You keep Sunday
00:25:52.88\00:25:57.79
or else we're going to kill you.
00:25:57.82\00:25:59.28
That is making the
law of God of none effect.
00:25:59.32\00:26:03.91
And, furthermore, we
know by the story of Elijah,
00:26:03.94\00:26:08.46
and by other stories in
Scripture, as well as from the
00:26:08.50\00:26:11.57
Spirit of Prophecy, that
the things in this world are
00:26:11.60\00:26:14.64
going to get worse and worse.
00:26:14.68\00:26:16.12
There are going to
be major mega disasters
00:26:16.15\00:26:19.25
one right after another.
00:26:19.28\00:26:20.31
We've seen several of them
already, but it's going to get
00:26:20.34\00:26:23.19
worse and worse. Crime is
going to get worse and worse.
00:26:23.22\00:26:26.09
There's going to be an economic
collapse, and as a result the
00:26:26.12\00:26:29.54
Christian world is going to say,
Why is this all happening to us?
00:26:29.58\00:26:32.99
It's because we've
gone astray from God.
00:26:33.02\00:26:35.32
So what we need to do is
we need to come back to God.
00:26:35.35\00:26:38.32
We need to go to
church on Sunday,
00:26:38.36\00:26:40.37
and then God
will favor us again.
00:26:40.41\00:26:42.35
What worse legalism can there
be than saying, let's get back
00:26:42.39\00:26:47.13
to church so that
God will bless us?
00:26:47.16\00:26:49.12
Shouldn't we get back to
church because we love the Lord?
00:26:49.16\00:26:53.19
not in order to
remove the curse?
00:26:53.22\00:26:55.18
And so Adventists have
been accused of being legalists
00:26:55.22\00:26:58.30
because we say that we
should keep the Sabbath,
00:26:58.34\00:27:02.55
which is one of
the ten commandments.
00:27:02.58\00:27:04.60
And yet the Christian world
is going to say, You either keep
00:27:04.63\00:27:07.76
Sunday, and if you keep the
Sabbath we're going to kill you.
00:27:07.79\00:27:11.00
And so many people will observe
Sunday because they're afraid
00:27:11.03\00:27:14.15
of losing their lives, not
because they love the Lord.
00:27:14.18\00:27:17.02
And also the legalism will
be manifested by the Christian
00:27:17.05\00:27:19.88
world by saying, Hey, if we
eliminate the problem of these
00:27:19.91\00:27:25.68
individuals who have observed
the Sabbath, then God is going
00:27:25.71\00:27:30.25
to remove all
of these disasters.
00:27:30.29\00:27:31.70
He's going to remove
the curse, and that way we
00:27:31.73\00:27:33.90
will earn God's favor.
00:27:33.93\00:27:36.11
Now lets notice what Roman
Catholics have to say about
00:27:36.15\00:27:41.06
the Sabbath/Sunday issue.
00:27:41.09\00:27:43.17
Probably many of you are aware
of a challenge that John Eck,
00:27:43.20\00:27:48.92
a theologian of the Roman
Catholic Church, hurled at
00:27:48.95\00:27:52.52
Martin Luther in a
debate that they had.
00:27:52.55\00:27:55.70
I want to read this statement
that Johann Eck makes to Luther,
00:27:55.73\00:28:00.60
and Eck got the better
part of Luther on this one.
00:28:00.63\00:28:03.71
Notice what he
said, because Luther said,
00:28:03.74\00:28:07.60
Sola scriptura, the Bible alone.
00:28:07.64\00:28:10.14
Now notice, Eck says:
00:28:10.18\00:28:24.43
Now notice the terminology.
00:28:24.46\00:28:26.16
What? Remember that word.
00:28:27.80\00:28:29.73
We're going to come back to it.
00:28:29.76\00:28:30.79
That is Sunday, according
to the Christian world.
00:28:35.40\00:28:38.64
He says to Luther.
00:28:43.27\00:28:44.77
Notice, the Church.
00:28:55.66\00:28:57.74
Notice what John Milner,
another Roman Catholic scholar,
00:29:07.82\00:29:12.36
had to say about the reason
for keeping Sunday. He says:
00:29:12.39\00:29:16.76
And then he quotes.
00:29:20.85\00:29:22.15
By the way, up till now he's
quoted Genesis 2:3, Exodus 20,
00:29:39.17\00:29:44.04
now he's quoted Matthew 5:17.
00:29:44.07\00:29:46.68
Then he continues saying:
00:29:46.71\00:29:48.59
See, he's quoting Scripture.
00:30:06.76\00:30:08.54
And then notice what he says:
00:30:08.57\00:30:09.78
Here's another statement from
a Roman Catholic theologian,
00:30:52.34\00:30:57.32
John L. Stoddard, and he indicts
Protestants here by saying:
00:30:57.35\00:31:02.06
And then he's
going to give an example.
00:31:20.11\00:31:22.66
On what basis has the
Protestant world done this?
00:32:09.14\00:32:12.34
Notice what he says.
00:32:12.37\00:32:13.40
Quite an indictment, isn't it?
00:32:23.97\00:32:25.76
Now here's another
statement from Bertrand Conway.
00:32:25.79\00:32:29.88
I'm going to read two
statements from him. He says:
00:32:29.91\00:32:33.00
And then he says in a
candid and unapologetic way:
00:32:45.10\00:32:49.99
Some Protestant churches
baptize children, by the way.
00:33:14.90\00:33:18.13
Amazing statements, aren't they?
00:33:33.49\00:33:35.41
Now notice this one.
00:33:35.44\00:33:37.27
This is from James Cardinal
Gibbons, a famous cardinal who
00:33:37.30\00:33:42.12
was in Baltimore, in
the Diocese of Baltimore.
00:33:42.15\00:33:45.81
Notice what he had to say.
00:33:45.84\00:33:46.99
Here's another one: Leo
Tress and John Castlelot.
00:34:36.67\00:34:40.45
Notice this, the change.
00:34:44.78\00:34:46.35
There's the important word.
00:34:51.36\00:34:52.53
What? Ah, there's the
interesting term again.
00:34:57.64\00:35:01.47
That is by the Magisterium.
00:35:07.69\00:35:09.98
So why do Protestants
keep Sunday as the day of rest?
00:35:26.57\00:35:29.67
Based on the authority
of the tradition of the
00:35:29.70\00:35:32.73
Roman Catholic Church.
00:35:32.76\00:35:34.38
Here is another one.
00:35:34.41\00:35:36.24
This is from the
Catholic Mirror, which was the
00:35:36.27\00:35:38.75
publication of the Diocese
of Baltimore. It says there:
00:35:38.78\00:35:42.57
Did what? What's the next word?
00:35:50.17\00:35:51.81
Remember that. We're
going to come back to it.
00:35:51.84\00:35:53.87
That is the Church.
00:36:04.38\00:36:05.41
That is with the Church.
00:36:19.17\00:36:20.52
That's Sunday, by the way.
00:36:34.20\00:36:35.68
And now listen to this.
00:36:54.39\00:36:55.93
I'm going to come back
to it in a few moments.
00:36:55.96\00:36:57.95
Which is Sunday. It's not the
seventh day, it's the first day.
00:36:59.72\00:37:02.81
Remember that word.
00:37:11.07\00:37:12.14
So remember that this
author in the Catholic Mirror,
00:37:22.26\00:37:27.90
is basically saying
that Sunday was born from the
00:37:27.93\00:37:32.87
Roman Catholic Church.
00:37:32.90\00:37:33.93
It is the offspring of
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:37:33.96\00:37:36.48
Here's another statement.
00:37:36.51\00:37:38.58
This is from F. G. Lintz,
another Roman Catholic scholar,
00:37:38.61\00:37:41.94
and it's in
question and answer form.
00:37:41.97\00:37:44.43
Is what is being asked of
this Roman Catholic scholar.
00:38:03.39\00:38:06.61
Now notice how the Roman
Catholic Scholar is going to
00:38:06.64\00:38:08.76
answer whether the day
that Seventh-day Adventist's
00:38:08.79\00:38:11.29
keep is the right day.
00:38:11.32\00:38:12.39
That is Protestants.
00:38:47.60\00:38:48.63
These are amazing
statements, aren't they?
00:39:31.36\00:39:33.61
And all of them are made
by Roman Catholic scholars
00:39:33.64\00:39:37.13
without exception.
00:39:37.16\00:39:38.19
These are not Protestants that
are making these statements.
00:39:38.22\00:39:40.46
These are Roman Catholics that
are making these statements.
00:39:40.49\00:39:43.09
Now did you notice the number
of times in these statements
00:39:43.12\00:39:45.74
that you have the word changed?
00:39:45.77\00:39:47.33
The Church
changed, tradition changed?
00:39:47.36\00:39:50.55
Do you know
where this comes from?
00:39:50.58\00:39:51.98
It comes from a prophecy
that we find in Daniel 7.
00:39:52.01\00:39:56.41
And I'm just going to
summarize it very briefly.
00:39:56.44\00:39:58.86
Because many people
are acquainted with it.
00:39:58.89\00:40:00.81
In Daniel 7 we have the course
of human history, from the days
00:40:00.84\00:40:04.70
of Daniel and Nebuchadnezzar,
to the very end of time.
00:40:04.73\00:40:08.83
You have, first of all, a lion.
00:40:08.86\00:40:11.20
And what kingdom
does the lion represent?
00:40:11.23\00:40:13.51
It represents Babylon.
00:40:13.54\00:40:15.52
It ruled from 605 to 539 B.C.
00:40:15.55\00:40:19.82
And then you have
after this a bear.
00:40:19.85\00:40:21.91
What does the bear represent?
00:40:21.94\00:40:23.31
It represents the
Medes and Persians.
00:40:23.34\00:40:25.70
The kingdom that
conquered Babylon.
00:40:25.73\00:40:27.39
And the Medes and Persians
ruled from 539 to 331 B.C.
00:40:27.42\00:40:32.15
And then you have a leopard.
00:40:32.18\00:40:34.17
And the leopard
represents which kingdom?
00:40:34.20\00:40:36.34
It represents Greece.
00:40:36.37\00:40:38.04
And Greece ruled
from 331 to 168 B.C.
00:40:38.07\00:40:42.20
And then you
have a fourth beast.
00:40:42.23\00:40:43.95
The fourth beast is
what I call a dragon beast.
00:40:43.98\00:40:46.20
It's a non-descript beast.
00:40:46.23\00:40:48.03
And this beast has three stages
of existence, three consecutive
00:40:48.06\00:40:51.95
stages of existence.
00:40:51.98\00:40:53.38
The first stage is this
dragon beast ruling by itself.
00:40:53.41\00:40:57.40
It doesn't have any horns on its
head when it arises to power.
00:40:57.43\00:41:01.18
It's simply this
dragon beast ruling by itself.
00:41:01.21\00:41:04.05
And what does this
dragon beast represent?
00:41:04.08\00:41:06.65
It represents the Roman Empire.
00:41:06.68\00:41:08.92
The empire under which
the Lord Jesus was born.
00:41:08.95\00:41:11.76
You can find that in Revelation
12 where it says that the
00:41:11.79\00:41:14.66
dragon stood next to the
woman to devour her child
00:41:14.69\00:41:17.05
as soon as the child was born.
00:41:17.08\00:41:18.48
Which was the empire
that attempted to slay Christ
00:41:18.51\00:41:21.70
when He was born? It was Rome.
00:41:21.73\00:41:23.47
And so this fourth
beast without any horns
00:41:23.50\00:41:26.40
represents the Roman Empire.
00:41:26.43\00:41:28.03
But then, interestingly enough,
from the head of this dragon
00:41:28.06\00:41:32.60
beast, after it has ruled for
awhile, because the Roman Empire
00:41:32.63\00:41:35.66
ruled from 168 B.C. till
476 A.D. when the last Roman
00:41:35.69\00:41:41.64
emperor of the
western empire was deposed.
00:41:41.67\00:41:44.58
The Roman empire was
divided into ten kingdoms,
00:41:44.61\00:41:48.91
as a result of the
Barbarian invasions.
00:41:48.94\00:41:51.39
And therefore from the head
of this dragon beast come forth
00:41:51.42\00:41:55.02
ten horns. The ten horns were
complete in the year 476 A.D.,
00:41:55.05\00:41:59.85
476 after Christ. And then
you have a third stage to this
00:41:59.88\00:42:04.14
dragon beast. The first stage
is the dragon beast by itself;
00:42:04.17\00:42:07.12
the Roman Empire.
00:42:07.15\00:42:08.18
The second stage is
when the ten horns come out.
00:42:08.21\00:42:10.78
In other words
that empire is divided.
00:42:10.81\00:42:13.26
And you know, it's still Rome
because they come from the head
00:42:13.29\00:42:15.58
of the fourth beast
which represents Rome.
00:42:15.61\00:42:17.88
And then among the ten, after
the year 476, you have a little
00:42:17.91\00:42:22.83
horn that rises among the ten.
00:42:22.86\00:42:25.18
And it uproots three,
and it speaks blasphemies
00:42:25.21\00:42:28.84
against the Most High.
00:42:28.87\00:42:30.08
It persecutes the saints of the
Most High, and it thinks that it
00:42:30.11\00:42:34.75
can do something
very interesting.
00:42:34.78\00:42:37.08
Notice Daniel 7:25.
00:42:37.11\00:42:40.36
The key word that we notice
in several of these statements
00:42:40.39\00:42:44.52
that we just read.
00:42:44.55\00:42:45.58
It says in Daniel 7:25
the following: He shall speak
00:42:45.61\00:42:52.74
pompous words
against the Most High.
00:42:52.77\00:42:55.03
Revelation identifies
those words as blasphemies.
00:42:55.06\00:42:58.11
Do you know what blasphemy is?
00:42:58.14\00:42:59.69
Blasphemy is defined in the
Bible first of all when a mere
00:42:59.72\00:43:04.06
man claims to be God,
and secondly when a mere man
00:43:04.09\00:43:08.51
claims to have the
power to forgive sins.
00:43:08.54\00:43:10.33
Jesus was accused of blasphemy
because He said He was God.
00:43:10.36\00:43:14.10
Well, they were wrong, and He
was right, because He was God.
00:43:14.13\00:43:16.66
But He was accused of blasphemy.
00:43:16.69\00:43:18.79
And He was also accused of
blasphemy because He claimed
00:43:18.82\00:43:22.50
to have the power to
forgive sins, and He did.
00:43:22.54\00:43:24.25
But when a mere man claims to
be God, and a mere man claims to
00:43:24.28\00:43:29.40
have the power to
forgive sins, that's blasphemy.
00:43:29.43\00:43:31.44
And this little
horn speaks blasphemies.
00:43:31.48\00:43:34.02
And then it continues
saying: He shall persecute
00:43:34.06\00:43:35.89
the saints of the Most High.
00:43:35.92\00:43:38.62
This would be a
persecuting power
00:43:38.66\00:43:40.42
against God's faithful people.
00:43:40.45\00:43:42.14
And then we have this
interesting characteristic:
00:43:42.18\00:43:47.86
and shall intend to
what? to change times and law.
00:43:47.89\00:43:53.54
If you look at Roman
Catholic Catechisms...
00:43:53.58\00:43:56.11
By the way, this
little horn represents the
00:43:56.14\00:43:57.85
Roman Catholic Papacy.
00:43:57.89\00:43:58.92
Is the Roman
Catholic Papacy Roman?
00:43:58.95\00:44:02.42
Does it come from
ancient pagan Rome?
00:44:02.46\00:44:05.93
Did it arise amidst the ten
kingdoms represented by the ten
00:44:05.96\00:44:10.61
horns? Did it
persecute God's people?
00:44:10.64\00:44:13.69
Does it claim to have
God's representative on earth?
00:44:13.72\00:44:16.69
Does it claim to have
the power to forgive sins?
00:44:16.72\00:44:19.38
Did it rule for 1,260 years, for
times and the dividing of time?
00:44:19.41\00:44:24.99
Absolutely! Did it claim
to have the power to change
00:44:25.02\00:44:29.73
God's holy law? Yes.
00:44:29.76\00:44:31.76
If you go to Roman
Catholic Catechisms you'll find
00:44:31.80\00:44:34.01
something very interesting.
00:44:34.04\00:44:35.07
And I checked out
fifty of them once in a
00:44:35.10\00:44:37.69
Roman Catholic bookstore.
00:44:37.72\00:44:38.77
You know, it's interesting that
the second commandment in the
00:44:38.81\00:44:43.18
Catechism's disappears; the
one that says that you're not
00:44:43.21\00:44:47.35
supposed to worship idols.
00:44:47.38\00:44:48.63
Why do you suppose the
Roman Catholic Church would
00:44:48.67\00:44:51.31
remove that commandment?
00:44:51.35\00:44:52.56
Well because their temples and
their churches are filled with
00:44:52.59\00:44:59.35
idols that people bow before.
00:44:59.39\00:45:01.09
And so they take out the second
commandment, and you end up
00:45:01.12\00:45:04.25
with nine commandments.
00:45:04.29\00:45:05.32
So you have to end up
with ten, because the Bible
00:45:05.35\00:45:07.44
says that there are ten.
00:45:07.48\00:45:08.51
And so what they do is they
divide the tenth commandment
00:45:08.54\00:45:11.71
into two: don't covet your
neighbors wife, and don't covet
00:45:11.75\00:45:15.13
your neighbors things basically.
00:45:15.16\00:45:17.29
But the tenth
commandment, covetousness, is
00:45:17.33\00:45:19.32
just one commandment.
00:45:19.35\00:45:20.38
I mean coveting things, or
coveting your neighbors wife,
00:45:20.41\00:45:23.29
that's just one commandment:
Thou shalt not covet.
00:45:23.32\00:45:25.50
And so the Roman Catholic Church
has taken out the commandment
00:45:25.54\00:45:29.55
that says don't worship
idols, and it ends up with nine,
00:45:29.58\00:45:32.70
so it has to divide
commandment number ten into two
00:45:32.73\00:45:35.66
to end up with ten.
00:45:35.69\00:45:37.07
But the Roman Catholic
Church has done something else
00:45:37.11\00:45:39.82
to change God's law,
which is even more serious,
00:45:39.85\00:45:42.65
and that is all of the
statements that we've read
00:45:42.68\00:45:45.45
clearly state that the Roman
Catholic Church, by tradition
00:45:45.48\00:45:49.26
has felt that it had the
authority to change what?
00:45:49.29\00:45:54.27
to change the
Sabbath to a different day,
00:45:54.30\00:45:57.60
the Sabbath to Sunday.
00:45:57.64\00:45:59.43
Are you with me or not?
00:45:59.46\00:46:01.18
Now, why can't
Christians see that it was the
00:46:01.22\00:46:04.72
Papacy that did this?
00:46:04.76\00:46:05.79
I'm going to
tell you very briefly.
00:46:05.82\00:46:08.47
You see, the Protestant
reformers followed a system
00:46:08.51\00:46:11.86
of interpreting prophecy
which is known as historicism.
00:46:11.90\00:46:15.22
It's basically the idea that
prophecy fulfills with a flow
00:46:15.25\00:46:20.56
without interruption
from the times of the prophet,
00:46:20.60\00:46:23.54
till the times of the
coming of Jesus Christ.
00:46:23.58\00:46:26.89
It's like Daniel 7.
00:46:26.92\00:46:28.36
You have Babylon, MedoPersia,
Greece, Rome, the Roman empire,
00:46:28.39\00:46:32.02
the Roman empire is divided,
and then you have another Rome
00:46:32.06\00:46:35.65
that arises immediately
after that, which does all of
00:46:35.69\00:46:38.94
the things that we've described.
00:46:38.97\00:46:40.00
Is it very difficult to
determine who followed the
00:46:40.03\00:46:43.51
Roman empire
when it was divided?
00:46:43.54\00:46:45.27
No, all you have to do is
look at the history books.
00:46:45.31\00:46:48.13
Which was the Rome that
came up, the religious Rome,
00:46:48.16\00:46:51.09
the little horn Rome
that came up after the Roman
00:46:51.12\00:46:54.02
empire was divided?
00:46:54.05\00:46:55.08
I mean there's
no debate about it.
00:46:55.11\00:46:57.89
It is the Roman Catholic Church.
00:46:57.92\00:46:59.43
But, you know, the way
that Protestants interpret
00:46:59.47\00:47:02.69
the little horn of Daniel 7?
00:47:02.72\00:47:04.74
They've gone astray
from the Protestant reformers
00:47:04.78\00:47:07.96
that they came from.
00:47:07.99\00:47:09.12
They say, no, no, no, the
little horn represents a nasty
00:47:09.15\00:47:15.52
individual who's
going to arise in the future
00:47:15.55\00:47:18.14
after the rapture of the
church, over in the Middle East.
00:47:18.17\00:47:21.84
The church will
be safe in heaven.
00:47:21.87\00:47:24.34
And therefore the
little horn has nothing to do
00:47:24.37\00:47:27.52
with church history.
00:47:27.56\00:47:28.59
And other protestants, the
main line Protestants, they say,
00:47:28.62\00:47:31.84
Oh, no, no, the little horn
was a nasty individual called
00:47:31.88\00:47:35.66
Antiochus Epiphanes, who
lived a 165 years before Christ.
00:47:35.70\00:47:39.45
You know, he
desecrated the Jewish temple.
00:47:39.48\00:47:41.44
He sacrificed a pig on
the altar and desecrated it.
00:47:41.47\00:47:44.40
That was the
little horn of Daniel 7.
00:47:44.43\00:47:46.99
And so, basically, what they're
doing is they're projecting the
00:47:47.02\00:47:49.41
anti-Christ to the distant
future, or the distant past,
00:47:49.44\00:47:52.42
and therefore they cannot see
what the Roman Catholic Church
00:47:52.46\00:47:55.54
did within church history.
00:47:55.57\00:47:57.17
Are you understanding me or not?
00:47:57.20\00:47:58.31
It's because of a wrong
interpretation, a wrong method
00:47:58.34\00:48:01.95
of interpreting prophecy, that
Protestants have bought into
00:48:01.98\00:48:05.38
the idea that the
Sabbath today is Sunday.
00:48:05.41\00:48:08.97
And they think
that it's in the Bible,
00:48:09.00\00:48:10.66
but it's not in the Bible.
00:48:10.69\00:48:11.73
In fact in our next lecture
we're going to study all of the
00:48:11.76\00:48:15.19
texts of the New
Testament that speak about
00:48:15.22\00:48:17.38
the first day of the week.
00:48:17.42\00:48:18.45
We're going to
examine every single one,
00:48:18.48\00:48:20.11
there are only eight of them,
to see if Protestants can really
00:48:20.29\00:48:24.87
base their idea of
Sunday observance on Scripture,
00:48:24.90\00:48:29.11
or whether it is a
tradition that comes from
00:48:29.14\00:48:31.64
the Roman Catholic Church.
00:48:31.67\00:48:33.24
I want to read a statement.
00:48:33.27\00:48:34.80
This was written by Ellen White.
00:48:34.83\00:48:36.50
And do you
remember the word offspring?
00:48:36.54\00:48:39.36
That Sunday is the offspring
of the Roman Catholic Church?
00:48:39.39\00:48:43.98
Now notice this is in the
book, Last Day Events, page 123.
00:48:44.02\00:48:48.57
It says there:
00:48:48.61\00:48:50.71
That is the little horn.
00:49:04.72\00:49:05.75
Which, by the
way, is the church.
00:49:09.85\00:49:11.23
Here's another
interesting statement.
00:49:44.21\00:49:46.23
This one is even more
explicit. It comes from:
00:49:46.27\00:49:48.51
Notice the terminology.
00:49:55.02\00:49:56.64
That's the little
horn, or the beast.
00:49:57.99\00:50:00.09
What? Ah, there's
the offspring idea again.
00:50:11.67\00:50:15.74
In other words
rocks it in the cradle.
00:50:23.59\00:50:25.70
In another statement
that's found in... She says:
00:50:36.58\00:50:40.66
And then she says in Volume
9 of the Testimonies, page 211,
00:50:53.19\00:50:57.19
And you say, Pastor, it's
not the same to worship the sun
00:51:13.12\00:51:17.19
as it is to worship
on the Sunday, is it?
00:51:17.22\00:51:19.88
It most
certainly is in principle.
00:51:19.91\00:51:22.79
Let me explain the reason why.
00:51:22.82\00:51:24.25
Let me ask you, who made the
first day of the week? God did.
00:51:24.29\00:51:29.19
Did He make it for worship?
00:51:29.23\00:51:30.60
No, it's a work day.
00:51:30.63\00:51:32.11
So what happens if you
make the first day of the week
00:51:32.14\00:51:35.89
a day of worship?
What is that called?
00:51:35.92\00:51:39.11
It's idolatry. Let me
ask you, Who made the sun?
00:51:39.14\00:51:42.38
Did God make
the sun for worship?
00:51:42.42\00:51:45.15
So what happens if you make
the sun an object of worship?
00:51:45.19\00:51:48.70
What is that called? idolatry.
00:51:48.74\00:51:51.41
You see, it doesn't
matter whether human beings make
00:51:51.44\00:51:54.87
the sun an object
of worship, or make the
00:51:54.90\00:51:57.78
Sunday a day of worship.
00:51:57.82\00:51:59.47
Whatever man makes for
worship that God did not make
00:51:59.51\00:52:02.87
for worship is
what? is idolatry.
00:52:02.90\00:52:05.31
So it doesn't
matter if it's a day.
00:52:05.35\00:52:08.14
It doesn't
matter if it's the sun.
00:52:08.17\00:52:10.89
The principle is that whatever
man makes for worship that
00:52:10.93\00:52:14.59
God did not make for
worship, is idolatry.
00:52:14.63\00:52:17.87
In Review and Herald, March
8, 1898, the same author says:
00:52:17.90\00:52:23.46
Do you see what the issue is?
00:52:47.61\00:52:49.30
You see folks, the final issue
is going to be one of authority.
00:52:49.34\00:52:53.89
Will it be God and the
Bible, and His Holy Sabbath,
00:52:53.92\00:52:59.65
or will it be the Papacy,
and tradition, and its Sabbath?
00:52:59.68\00:53:04.07
Is homage going to be paid to
God, by worshipping on the day
00:53:04.10\00:53:08.28
that He created for worship,
or are we going to pay homage to
00:53:08.31\00:53:12.42
the Papacy by keeping the
day that the Papacy established
00:53:12.45\00:53:16.52
as the day of worship?
00:53:16.56\00:53:17.91
Thus to worship God is
keeping His commandments,
00:53:17.94\00:53:22.59
whereas worshipping the beast
means to keep the commandments
00:53:22.63\00:53:26.85
of the beast. Are you
seeing what the issues are?
00:53:26.88\00:53:29.49
Folks, it's not an issue
of one day versus another day.
00:53:29.53\00:53:33.28
The days are simply the way
in which God tests us to see
00:53:33.31\00:53:36.88
if we will obey Him, or
whether we will obey the beast.
00:53:36.92\00:53:40.45
It is a matter of
which authority you accept.
00:53:40.49\00:53:43.83
When you keep God's
Holy Sabbath, you are saying,
00:53:43.87\00:53:47.14
I am keeping the day that
God established for worship.
00:53:47.18\00:53:50.16
God is my authority.
00:53:50.19\00:53:52.30
But when you keep
Sunday as the day of worship,
00:53:52.34\00:53:54.98
you're saying, I am honoring
the power that claims to have
00:53:55.01\00:53:58.13
changed the day of worship.
00:53:58.17\00:53:59.43
You are honoring the Papacy
who claims to have changed
00:53:59.47\00:54:02.87
the day of worship
from Sabbath to Sunday.
00:54:02.90\00:54:05.21
The issue is who will be
the authority in your life?
00:54:05.24\00:54:08.95
In Volume 19, of Manuscript
Releases 244, Ellen White makes
00:54:08.98\00:54:15.62
this interesting
statement. She says:
00:54:15.65\00:54:18.09
They have what? subverted
the Christian faith into what?
00:54:30.15\00:54:33.81
You see, the Bible in terms
too clear to be misunderstood,
00:54:58.40\00:55:02.81
repeatedly tells us that
the seventh day is the Sabbath
00:55:02.84\00:55:07.19
of the Lord. And yet the Roman
Catholic Church and Protestants
00:55:07.22\00:55:10.63
inform us, No,
Sunday is the Sabbath.
00:55:10.66\00:55:13.18
On what grounds
can they do this?
00:55:13.22\00:55:15.67
Certainly not on Biblical
grounds, but on the basis
00:55:15.70\00:55:19.88
of human tradition.
00:55:19.91\00:55:21.64
But, you know, the Roman
Catholic Church, in the course
00:55:21.68\00:55:24.61
of time has become craftier.
00:55:24.64\00:55:26.96
John Paul II wrote a pastor
a letter called Dies Domini,
00:55:27.00\00:55:30.44
and in that document, which
we're going to study in our
00:55:30.47\00:55:34.94
next lecture, he made a
valiant effort to defend Sunday
00:55:34.97\00:55:38.53
sacredness from a Biblical
perspective. because he's trying
00:55:38.56\00:55:41.88
Because he's trying to
convince Protestants that Sunday
00:55:41.92\00:55:45.07
observance is something
that is found in Scripture.
00:55:45.10\00:55:48.22
But when you examine this letter
that he wrote, Dies Domini,
00:55:48.25\00:55:52.68
which means, On the Lord's
Day, he appealed to all kinds of
00:55:52.71\00:55:57.10
philosophical arguments,
sophisticated philosophical
00:55:57.13\00:56:00.30
arguments based on human reason.
00:56:00.33\00:56:03.29
Yet none of his arguments
are persuasive to those who take
00:56:03.33\00:56:07.78
the Bible as their
only standard of truth.
00:56:07.82\00:56:11.53
In our next lecture we are going
to take a look at the arguments
00:56:11.57\00:56:15.69
that were used by John
Paul II in his document,
00:56:15.72\00:56:20.50
or in his pastoral
letter, Dies Domini.
00:56:20.54\00:56:23.64
So the question,
folks, then is this,
00:56:23.67\00:56:26.74
which will be our authority?
00:56:26.78\00:56:29.21
Will it be God's written word,
or will it be human tradition?
00:56:29.24\00:56:34.87
You see, folks, what
existed in the days of Christ
00:56:34.91\00:56:38.30
exist in the
Christian world today.
00:56:38.34\00:56:40.42
In the days of Christ the
Sabbath that the Pharisees
00:56:40.46\00:56:44.12
established was a human Sabbath
created by them by tradition.
00:56:44.16\00:56:47.95
At the end of time, the Sabbath
that is kept by the Christian
00:56:47.98\00:56:51.73
world, is also a
man made Sabbath.
00:56:51.76\00:56:54.31
A Sabbath based on tradition.
00:56:54.34\00:56:55.87
The only difference is that
in the times of Christ they kept
00:56:55.91\00:57:00.02
the Sabbath in the wrong
way, whereas at the end of time
00:57:00.06\00:57:04.14
the Christian world
will keep the wrong day.
00:57:04.17\00:57:06.98
But in principle it's the same.
00:57:07.02\00:57:09.27
It's man made
Sabbath versus God's Sabbath.
00:57:09.31\00:57:13.82
And that will be the issue
that will separate humanity.
00:57:13.85\00:57:17.82
It will be the crisis over
the seal of God, which is God's
00:57:17.86\00:57:21.80
Sabbath, and the
Mark of the Beast,
00:57:21.83\00:57:23.71
which is the
counterfeit day of worship.
00:57:23.75\00:57:26.15