All trinity studies Previous Download Next Roswell F. Cottrell on the Trinity Roswell F. Cottrell on the Trinity More words from one of the founding members of the Seventh day Adventist Church and the truth the Adventist Church was founded on. “He proceeded to affirm that “man is a triune being,” consisting of body, soul and spirit. I never heard a Disciple confess faith in the doctrine of the trinity; but why not, if man consists of three persons in one person? especially, since man was made in the image of God? But the image he said, was a moral likeness. So man may be a triune being without proving that God is. But does he mean that one man is three men? I might say that a tree consists of body, bark and leaves, and no one perhaps would dispute it. But if I should affirm that each tree consists of three trees, the assertion would possibly be doubted by some. But if all admitted that one tree is three trees, I might then affirm that there were ninety trees in my orchard, when no one could count but thirty. I might then proceed and say, I have ninety trees in my orchard, and as each tree consists of three trees, I have two hundred and seventy. So if one man is three men, you may multiply him by three as often as you please. But if it takes body, soul and spirit to make one perfect, living man; then separate these, and the man is unmade.” — (R.F. Cottrell, Review and Herald, November 19, 1857) “The Trinity, or the triune God, is unknown to the Bible; and I have entertained the idea that doctrines which require words coined in the human mind to express them, are coined doctrines.” — (R.F. Cottrell, Review and Herald, June 1, 1869) “That one person is three persons, and that three persons are only one person, is the doctrine which we claim is contrary to reason and common sense. The being and attributes of God are above, beyond, out of reach of my sense and reason, yet I believe them: But the doctrine I object to is contrary, yes, that is the word, to the very sense and reason that God has himself implanted in us. Such a doctrine he does not ask us to believe. A miracle is beyond our comprehension, but we all believe in miracles who believe our own senses. What we see and hear convinces us that there is a power that effected the most wonderful miracle of creation. But our Creator has made it an absurdity to us that one person should be three persons, and three persons but one person; and in his revealed word he has never asked us to believe it. This our friend thinks objectionable... But to hold the doctrine of the Trinity is not so much an evidence of evil intention as of intoxication from that wine of which all the nations have drunk. The fact that this was one of the leading doctrines, if not the very chief, upon which the bishop of Rome was exalted to popedom, does not say much in its favor. This should cause men to investigate it for themselves; as when the spirits of devils working miracles undertake the advocacy of the immortality of the soul. Had I never doubted it before, I would now probe it to the bottom, by that word which modern Spiritualism sets at nought.… Revelation goes beyond us; but in no instance does it go contrary to right reason and common sense. God has not claimed, as the popes have, that he could “make justice of injustice,” nor has he, after teaching us to count, told us that there is no difference between the singular and plural numbers. Let us believe all he has revealed, and add nothing to it.” — (R.F. Cottrell, Review and Herald, July 6, 1869) “But if I am asked what I think of Jesus Christ, my reply is, I believe all that the Scriptures say of him. If the testimony represents him as being in glory with the Father before the world was, I believe it. If it is said that he was in the beginning with God, that he was God, that all things were made by him and for him, and that without him was not anything made that was made, I believe it. If the Scriptures say he is the Son of God, I believe it. If it is declared that the Father sent his Son into the world, I believe he had a Son to send. ... Children inherit the name of their father. The Son of God “hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than the angels.” — (R.F. Cottrell, Review and Herald, June 1, 1869) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

Back to Contents Previous Download 看中文 Next Denominational Statements on the Sabbath AMERICAN CONGREGATIONALIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament. —Dr. Layman Abbot, in the Christian Union, June 26, 1890. ANGLICAN QUOTES ABOUTTHE SABBATH And where are we told in the Scriptures that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day... The reason why we keep the first day of the week holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many other things, not because the Bible, but because the Church, has enjoined it. —Isaac Williams, Plain Sermons on the Catechism, pages 334, 336. BAPTIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH There was and is a command to keep holy the Sabbath day, but that Sabbath day was not Sunday. It will however be readily said, and with some show of triumph, that the Sabbath was transferred from the seventh to the first day of the week, with all its duties, privileges and sanctions. Earnestly desiring information on this subject, which I have studied for many years, I ask, where can the record of such a transaction be found: Not in the New Testament – absolutely not. There is no scriptural evidence of the change of the Sabbath institution from the seventh to the first day of the week. —Dr. E. T. Hiscox, author of the ‘Baptist Manual’. To me it seems unaccountable that Jesus, during three years' discussion with His disciples, often conversing with them upon the Sabbath question, discussing it in some of its various aspects, freeing it from its false [Jewish traditional] glosses, never alluded to any transference of the day; also, that during the forty days of His resurrection life, no such thing was intimated. Nor, so far as we know, did the Spirit, which was given to bring to their remembrance all things whatsoever that He had said unto them, deal with this question. Nor yet did the inspired apostles, in preaching the gospel, founding churches, counseling and instructing those founded, discuss or approach the subject. Of course I quite well know that Sunday did come into use in early Christian history as a religious day as we learn from the Christian Fathers and other sources. But what a pity that it comes branded with the mark of Paganism, and christened with the name of the sun-god, then adopted and sanctified by the Papal apostasy, and bequeathed as a sacred legacy to Protestantism. —Dr. E. T. Hiscox, report of his sermon at the Baptist Minister's Convention, in 'New York Examiner,' November 16, 1893 The Scriptures nowhere call the first day of the week the Sabbath. . .There is no Scriptural authority for so doing, nor of course, any Scriptural obligation. —The Watchman. We believe that the law of God is the eternal and unchangeable rule of His moral government. —Baptist Church Manual, Art. 12. There was never any formal or authoritative change from the Jewish seventh-day Sabbath to the Christian first-day observance. —WILLIAM OWEN CARVER, The Lord's Day in Our Day, page 49. There is nothing in Scripture that requires us to keep Sunday rather than Saturday as a holy day. —Harold Lindsell (editor), Christianity Today, Nov. 5, 1976 BRETHREN QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH With the views of the law and the Sabbath we once held ... and which are still held by perhaps the great majority of the most earnest Christians, we confess that we could not answer Adventists. What is more, neither before or since have I heard or read what would conclusively answer an Adventist in his Scriptural contention that the Seventh day is the Sabbath (Ex. 20:10). It is not 'one day in seven' as some put it, but 'the seventh day according to the commandment.' —Words of Truth and Grace, p. 281. CATHOLIC QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH It is well to remind the Presbyterians, Baptists, Methodists, and all other Christians, that the Bible does not support them anywhere in their observance of Sunday. Sunday is an institution of the Roman Catholic Church, and those who observe the day observe a commandment of the Catholic Church. —Priest Brady, in an address, reported in the Elizabeth, NJ ‘News’ on March 18, 1903. Protestants ... accept Sunday rather than Saturday as the day for public worship after the Catholic Church made the change... But the Protestant mind does not seem to realize that ... in observing Sunday, they are accepting the authority of the spokesman for the Church, the pope. —Our Sunday Visitor, February 5th, 1950. Of course these two old quotations are exactly correct. The Catholic Church designated Sunday as the day for corporate worship and gets full credit – or blame – for the change. —This Rock, The Magazine of Catholic Apologetics and Evangelization, p.8, June 1997 Q. Have you any other proofs that they(Protestants) are not guided by the Scripture? A. Yes; so many, that we cannot admit more than a mere specimen into this small work. They reject much that is clearly contained in Scripture, and profess more that is nowhere discoverable in that Divine Book. Q. Give some examples of both? A. They should, if the Scripture were their only rule, wash the feet of one another, according to the command of Christ, in the 13th chap. of St. John; —they should keep, not the Sunday, but the Saturday, according to the commandment, "Remember thou keep holy the SABBATH-day;" for this commandment has not, in Scripture, been changed or abrogated;... —Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism; New York in 1857, page 101 Imprimatuer 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, A Doctrinal Catechism; New York in 1857, page 174 Q. In what manner can we show a Protestant, that he speaks unreasonably against fasts and abstinences? A. Ask him why he keeps Sunday, and not Saturday, as his day of rest, since he is unwilling either to fast or to abstain. If he reply, that the Scripture orders him to keep the Sunday, but says nothing as to fasting and abstinence, tell him the Scripture speaks of Saturday or the Sabbath, but gives no command anywhere regarding Sunday or the first day of the week. If, then he neglects Saturday as a day of rest and holiness, and substitutes Sunday in its place, and this merely because such was the usage of the ancient Church, should he not, if he wishes to act consistently, observe fasting and abstinence, because the ancient Church so ordained? —Rev. Stephen Keenan, A Doctrinal Catechism; New York in 1857, page 181 Question: Which is the Sabbath day? Answer: Saturday is the Sabbath day. Question: Why do we observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Answer: We observe Sunday instead of Saturday because the Catholic Church transferred the solemnity from Saturday to Sunday. —Rev. Peter Geiermann C.SS .R., The Convert’s Catechism of Catholic Doctrine, p. 50 Q. Must not a sensible Protestant doubt seriously, when he finds that even the Bible is not followed as a rule by his co-religionists? A. Surely, when he sees them baptize infants, abrogate the Jewish Sabbath, and observe Sunday for which [pg. 7] there is no Scriptural authority; when he finds them neglect to wash one another's feet, which is expressly commanded, and eat blood and things strangled, which are expressly prohibited in Scripture. He must doubt, if he think at all. … Q. Should not the Protestant doubt when he finds that he himself holds tradition as a guide? A. Yes, if he would but reflect that he has nothing but Catholic Tradition for keeping the Sunday holy; ... —Controversial Catechism by Stephen Keenan, New Edition, revised by Rev. George Cormack, published in London by Burns & Oates, Limited - New York, Cincinnati, Chicago: Benzinger Brothers, 1896, pages 6, 7. The Church, on the other hand, after changing the day of rest from the Jewish Sabbath, or seventh day of the week, to the first, made the Third Commandment refer to Sunday as the day to be kept holy as the Lord's Day. The Council of Trent (Sess. VI, can. xix) condemns those who deny that the Ten Commandments are binding on Christians. —The Catholic Encyclopedia, Commandments of God, Volume IV, © 1908 by Robert Appleton Company, Online Edition © 1999 by Kevin Knight, Nihil Obstat - Remy Lafort, Censor Imprimatur - +John M. Farley, Archbishop of New York, page 153. The [Roman Catholic] Church changed the observance of the Sabbath to Sunday by right of the divine, infallible authority given to her by her founder, Jesus Christ. The Protestant claiming the Bible to be the only guide of faith, has no warrant for observing Sunday. In this matter the Seventh-day Adventist is the only consistent Protestant. —The Catholic Universe Bulletin, August 14, 1942, p. 4. All of us believe many things in regard to religion that we do not find in the Bible. For example, nowhere in the Bible do we find that Christ or the Apostles ordered that the Sabbath be changed from Saturday to Sunday. We have the commandment of God given to Moses to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is the 7th day of the week, Saturday. Today most Christians keep Sunday because it has been revealed to us by the Church outside the Bible. —The Catholic Virginian, To Tell You The Truth,” Vol. 22, No. 49 (Oct. 3, 1947). ... you may read the Bible from Genesis to Revelation, and you will not find a single line authorizing the sanctification of Sunday. The Scriptures enforce the religious observance of Saturday, a day which we never sanctify. —The Faith of Our Fathers, by James Cardinal Gibbons, Archbishop of Baltimore, 88th edition, page 89. Originally published in 1876, republished and Copyright 1980 by TAN Books and Publishers, Inc., pages 72-73. Deny the authority of the Church and you have no adequate or reasonable explanation or justification for the substitution of Sunday for Saturday in the Third - Protestant Fourth - Commandment of God... The Church is above the Bible, and this transference of Sabbath observance is proof of that fact.' —Catholic Record, September 1, 1923. But since Saturday, not Sunday, is specified in the Bible, isn't it curious that non-Catholics who profess to take their religion directly from the Bible and not the Church, observe Sunday instead of Saturday? Yes, of course, it is inconsistent; but this change was made about fifteen centuries before Protestantism was born, and by that time the custom was universally observed. They have continued the custom, even though it rests upon the authority of the Catholic Church and not upon an explicit text in the Bible. That observance remains as a reminder of the Mother Church from which the non-Catholic sects broke away - like a boy running away from home but still carrying in his pocket a picture of his mother or a lock of her hair. —The Faith of Millions Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the Church ever did, happened in the first century. The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday. "The Day of the Lord" (dies Dominica) was chosen, not from any directions noted in the Scriptures, but from the Church's sense of its own power. The day of resurrection, the day of Pentecost, fifty days later, came on the first day of the week. So this would be the new Sabbath. People who think that the Scriptures should be the sole authority, should logically become 7th Day Adventists, and keep Saturday holy. —Sentinel, Pastor's page, Saint Catherine Catholic Church, Algonac, Michigan, May 21, 1995 If Protestants would follow the Bible, they would worship God on the Sabbath Day. In keeping the Sunday they are following a law of the Catholic Church. —Albert Smith, Chancellor of the Archdiocese of Baltimore, replying for the Cardinal, in a letter dated February 10, 1920. The observance of Sunday by the Protestants is homage they pay, in spite of themselves, to the authority of the [Catholic] Church. —Monsignor Louis Segur, ‘Plain Talk about the Protestantism of Today’, p. 213. What Important Question Does the Papacy Ask Protestants? Protestants have repeatedly asked the papacy, "How could you dare to change God's law?" But the question posed to Protestants by the Catholic church is even more penetrating. Here it is officially: You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! but by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day, who shall dare to say, Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of worldly business on the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead? This is a most important question, which I know not how you can answer. You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the ten commandments; you believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered. —Library of Christian Doctrine: Why Don't You Keep Holy the Sabbath-Day? (London: Burns and Oates, Ltd.), pp. 3, 4. There is but one church on the face of the earth which has the power, or claims power, to make laws binding on the conscience, binding before God, binding under penalty of hell-fire. For instance, the institution of Sunday. What right has any other church to keep this day? You answer by virtue of the third commandment (the papacy did away with the 2nd regarding the worship of graven images, and called the 4th the 3rd), which says 'Remember that thou keep holy the Sabbath day.' But Sunday is not the Sabbath. Any schoolboy knows that Sunday is the first day of the week. I have repeatedly offered one thousand dollars to anyone who will prove by the Bible alone that Sunday is the day we are bound to keep, and no one has called for the money. It was the holy Catholic Church that changed the day of rest from Saturday, the seventh day, to Sunday, the first day of the week. —T. Enright, C.S.S.R., in a lecture delivered in 1893. Of course the Catholic Church claims that the change was her act. And the act is a mark of her ecclesiastical power and authority in religious matters. —C. F. Thomas, Chancellor of Cardinal Gibbons, in answer to a letter regarding the change of the Sabbath, November 11, 1895. Tradition, not Scripture, is the rock on which the church of Jesus Christ is built. —Adrien Nampon, Catholic Doctrine as Defined by the Council of Trent, p. 157 The Pope is of so great authority and power that he can modify, explain, or interpret even divine law". The pope can modify divine law, since his power is not of man, but of God, and he acts a vicegerent of God upon earth —Lucius Ferraris, Prompta Bibliotheca, art. Papa, II, Vol. VI, p. 29. The leader of the Catholic church is defined by the faith as the Vicar of Jesus Christ (and is accepted as such by believers). The Pope is considered the man on earth who "takes the place" of the Second Person of the omnipotent God of the Trinity. —John Paul II, Crossing the Threshold of Hope, p. 3, 1994 ...pastoral intuition suggested to the Church the christianization of the notion of Sunday as "the day of the sun", which was the Roman name for the day and which is retained in some modern languages.(29) This was in order to draw the faithful away from the seduction of cults which worshipped the sun, and to direct the celebration of the day to Christ, humanity's true 'sun'. —John Paul II, Dies Domini, 27. The day of Christ-Light, 1998 (Prominent protestant leaders agree with this statement - See here for a statement by Dr. E. T. Hiscox, author of the ‘Baptist Manual’) The Sun was a foremost god with heathen-dom…The sun has worshippers at this hour in Persia and other lands…. There is, in truth, something royal, kingly about the sun, making it a fit emblem of Jesus, the Sun of Justice. Hence the church in these countries would seem to have said, to 'Keep that old pagan name [Sunday]. It shall remain consecrated, sanctified.' And thus the pagan Sunday, dedicated to Balder, became the Christian Sunday, sacred to Jesus. —William Gildea, Doctor of Divinity, The Catholic World, March, 1894, p. 809 The retention of the old pagan name of Dies Solis, for Sunday is, in a great measure, owing to the union of pagan and Christian sentiment with which the first day of the week was recommended by Constantine to his subjects - pagan and Christian alike - as the 'venerable' day of the sun. —Arthur P. Stanley, History of the Eastern Church, p. 184 When St. Paul repudiated the works of the law, he was not thinking of the Ten Commandments, which are as unchangeable as God Himself is, which God could not change and still remain the infinitely holy God. —Our Sunday Visitor, Oct. 7, I951. Question: How prove you that the Church hath power to command feasts and holydays? Answer: 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. —Henry Tuberville, An Abridgment of the Christian Doctrine (1833 approbation), p.58 (Same statement in Manual of Christian Doctrine, ed. by Daniel Ferris [1916 ed.], p.67) Some theologians have held that God likewise directly determined the Sunday as the day of worship in the NEW LAW, that he himself has explicitly substituted Sunday for the Sabbath. But this theory is entirely abandoned. It is now commonly held that God simply gave His church the power to set aside whatever day or days she would deem suitable as holy days. The church chose Sunday, the first day of the week, and in the course of time added other days as holy days. —Vincent J. Kelly, Forbidden Sunday and Feast-Day Occupations, Washington, DC, Catholic University of America Press, Studies in Sacred Theology, No. 70.,1943, p. 2. If we consulted the Bible only, we should still have to keep holy the Sabbath Day, that is, Saturday, with the Jews, instead of Sunday; ... —A Course in Religion for Catholic High Schools and Academies, by Rev. John Laux M.A., Benzinger Brothers, 1936 edition, Part 1. Sunday is a Catholic institution, and... can be defended only on Catholic principles.... From beginning to end of Scripture there is not a single passage that warrants the transfer of weekly public worship from the last day of the week to the first. —Catholic Press, Aug. 25, 1900 The Sabbath was Saturday, not Sunday. The Church altered the observance of the Sabbath to the observance of Sunday. Protestants must be rather puzzled by the keeping of Sunday when God distinctly said, 'Keep holy the Sabbath Day.' The word Sunday does not come anywhere in the Bible, so, without knowing it they are obeying the authority of the Catholic Church. —Canon Cafferata, The Catechism Explained, p. 89. Reason and sense demand the acceptance of one or the other of these alternatives: either Protestantism and the keeping holy of Saturday, or Catholicity and the keeping holy of Sunday. Compromise is impossible. —John Cardinal Gibbons, The Catholic Mirror, December 23, 1893. CHRISTIAN CHURCH QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH I do not believe that the Lord's day came in the room of the Jewish Sabbath, or that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day, for this plain reason, where there is no testimony, there can be no faith. Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath is changed, or that the Lord’s Day came in the room of it. —Alexander Campbell, in The Reporter, October 8, 1921 It has reversed the fourth commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday. —Dr. N. Summerbell, History of the Christian Church, Third Edition, p. 415 There is no direct scriptural authority for designating the first day the Lord's day. —Dr. D. H. Lucas, Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890. The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath. There never was any change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change. —First-Day Observance, pp. 17, 19. CHURCH OF CHRIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH But we do not find any direct command from God, or instruction from the risen Christ, or admonition from the early apostles, that the first day is to be substituted for the seventh day Sabbath." "Let us be clear on this point. Though to the Christian 'that day, the first day of the week' is the most memorable of all days ... there is no command or warrant in the New Testament for observing it as a holy day. The Roman Church selected the first day of the week in honour of the resurrection of Christ. ... —Bible Standard, May, 1916, Auckland, New Zealand. ... If the fourth command is binding upon us Gentiles by all means keep it. But let those who demand a strict observance of the Sabbath remember that the seventh day is the ONLY sabbath day commanded, and God never repealed that command. If you would keep the Sabbath, keep it; but Sunday is not the Sabbath. The argument of the 'Seventh-day Adventists' is on one point unassailable. It is the Seventh day not the first day that the command refers to. —G. Alridge, Editor, The Bible Standard, April, 1916. There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day the Lord's day. —DR. D. H. LUCAS, Christian Oracle, Jan. 23, 1890. The first day of the week is commonly called the Sabbath. This is a mistake. The Sabbath of the Bible was the day just preceding the first day of the week. The first day of the week is never called the Sabbath anywhere in the entire Scriptures. It is also an error to talk about the change of the Sabbath. There never was any change of the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday. There is not in any place in the Bible any intimation of such a change. —First-Day Observance, pages 17, 19. It has reversed the fourth commandment by doing away with the Sabbath of God's Word, and instituting Sunday as a holiday. —DR. N. SUMMERBELL, History of the Christian Church, Third Edition, page 4I5. It is clearly proved that the pastors of the churches have struck out one of God's ten words, which, not only in the Old Testament, but in all revelation, are the most emphatically regarded as the synopsis of all religion and morality. —ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Debate With Purcell, page 214. I do not believe that the Lord's day came in the room of the Jewish Sabbath, or that the Sabbath was changed from the seventh to the first day, for this plain reason, where there is no testimony, there can be no faith. Now there is no testimony in all the oracles of heaven that the Sabbath was changed, or that the Lord's day came in the room of it. —ALEXANDER CAMPBELL, Washington Reporter, Oct. 8, 1821. CHURCH OF ENGLAND QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH Many people think that Sunday is the Sabbath. But neither in the New Testament nor in the early church is there anything to suggest that we have any right to transfer the observance of the seventh day of the week to the first. The Sabbath was and is Saturday and not Sunday, and if it were binding on us then we should observe it on that day, and on no other. —Rev. Lionel Beere, All-Saints Church, Ponsonby, N.Z. in Church and People, Sept. 1, 1947. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday. Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy. ...! That is Saturday. —P. Carrington, Archbishop of Quebec, Oct. 27, 1949; cited in Prophetic Signs, p 12. The observance of the first instead of the seventh day rests on the testimony of the church, and the church alone. —Hobart Church News, July 2, 1894; cited in Prophetic Signs, p 14. Where are we told in Scripture that we are to keep the first day at all? We are commanded to keep the Seventh; but we are nowhere commanded to keep the first day. The reason why we keep the first day holy instead of the seventh is for the same reason that we observe many things, not because the Bible, but because the Church, has enjoined them. —Rev. Isaac Williams, Ser. on Catechism, p. 334. The seventh day, the commandment says, is the Sabbath of The Lord thy God. No kind of arithmetic, no kind of almanac, can make seven equal one, nor the seventh mean the first, nor Saturday mean Sunday. ... The fact is that we are all Sabbath breakers, every one of us. —Rev. Geo. Hodges. Not any ecclesiastical writer of the first three centuries attributed the origin of Sunday observance either to Christ or to His apostles. —SIR WILLIAM DOMVILLE, Examination of the Six Texts, pages 6, 7. (Supplement). There is no word, no hint, in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. . . . Into the rest of Sunday no divine law enters…, The observance of Ash Wednesday or Lent stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. —CANON EYTON, 'The Ten Commandments, pages 52, 63, 65. Is there any command in the New Testament to change the day of weekly rest from Saturday to Sunday? None. —Manual of Christian Doctrine, page 127. The Lord's day did not succeed in the place of the Sabbath....The Lord's day was merely an ecclesiastical institution. It was not introduced by virtue of the fourth commandment, because for almost three hundred years together they kept that day which was in that commandment...The primitive Christians did all manner of works upon the Lord's day, even in times of persecution, when they are the strictest observers of all the divine commandments; but in this they knew there was none. —BISHOP JEREMY TAYLOR, Ductor Dubitantium, Part I, Book II, Chap. 2, Rule 6. Sec. 51, 59. Sunday being the day on which the Gentiles solemnly adore that planet and called it Sunday, partly from its influence on that day especially, and partly in respect to its divine body (as they conceived it), the Christians thought fit to keep the same day and the same name of it, that they might not appear causelessly peevish, and by that means hinder the conversion of the Gentiles, and bring a greater prejudice than might be otherwise taken against the gospel. —T. M. MORER, Dialogues on the Lord's Day, pages 22, 23. The Puritan idea was historically unhappy. It made Sunday into the Sabbath day. Even educated people call Sunday the Sabbath. Even clergymen do. But, unless my reckoning is all wrong, the Sabbath day lasts twenty-four hours from six o'clock on Friday evening. It gives over, therefore, before we come to Sunday. If you suggest to a Sabbatarian that he ought to observe the Sabbath on the proper day, you arouse no enthusiasm. He at once replies that the day, not the principle, has been changed. But changed by whom? There is no injunction in the whole of the New Testament to Christians to change the Sabbath into Sunday. —D. MORSE-BOYCOTT, Daily Herald, London, Feb. 26, 1931. The Christian church made no formal, but a gradual and almost unconscious transference of the one day to the other. —F.W. FARRAR, D.D., The Voice From Sinai, page 167. Take which you will, either of the Fathers or the moderns, and we shall find no Lord's day instituted by any apostolical mandate; no Sabbath set on foot by them upon the first day of the week. —PETER HEYLYN, History of the Sabbath, page 410. Merely to denounce the tendency to secularise Sunday is as futile as it is easy. What we want is to find some principle, to which as Christians we can appeal, and on which we can base both our conduct and our advice. We turn to the New Testament, and we look in vain for any authoritative rule. There is no recorded word of Christ, there is no word of any of the apostles, which tells how we should keep Sunday, or indeed that we should keep it at all. It is disappointing, for it would make our task much easier if we could point to a definite rule, which left us no option but simple obedience or disobedience. . . . There is no rule for Sunday observance, either in Scripture or history. —DR. STEPHEN, Bishop of Newcastle, N.S.W., in an address reported in the Newcastle Morning Herald, May 14, 1924. CONGREGATIONAL QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The Christian Sabbath [Sunday] is not in the Scripture, and was not by the primitive [early Christian] church called the Sabbath. —Timothy Dwight, Theology, sermon 107, 1818 ed., Vol. IV, p. 49 Note: Timothy Dwight (1752-1817) was president of Yale University from 1795-1817. It is quite clear that, however rigidly or devoutly we may spend Sunday, we are not keeping the Sabbath ... The Sabbath was founded on a specific divine command. We can plead no such command for the obligation to observe Sunday ... There is not a single sentence in the New Testament to suggest that we incur any penalty by violating the supposed sanctity of Sunday. —Dr. Dale, The Ten Commandments, pp. 106, 107. It must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day. —Buck's Theological Dictionary page 403. There is no command in the Bible requiring us to observe the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. —ORIN FOWLER, A.M., Mode and Subjects of Baptism. The current notion that Christ and His apostles authoritatively substituted the first day for the seventh, is absolutely without any authority in the New Testament. —DR. LYMAN ABBOTT, Christian Union, Jan. 18, 1882. DISCIPLES OF CHRIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH There is no direct Scriptural authority for designating the first day ‘the Lord’s Day.’ —Dr D.H. Lucas, Christian Oracle, January, 1890 EPISCOPALIAN QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH We have made the change from the seventh day to the first day, from Saturday to Sunday, on the authority of the one holy, Catholic, Apostolic Church of Christ. —Bishop Symour, Why We keep Sunday. The Bible commandment says on the seventh-day thou shalt rest. That is Saturday. Nowhere in the Bible is it laid down that worship should be done on Sunday. —Phillip Carrington, quoted in Toronto Daily Star, Oct 26, 1949 [Carrington (1892-), Anglican archbishop of Quebec, spoke the above in a message on this subject delivered to a packed assembly of clergymen. It was widely reported at the time in the news media]. INFIDEL QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH Probably very few Christians are aware of the fact that what they call the 'Christian Sabbath' (Sunday) is of pagan origin. The first observance of Sunday- that history records is in the fourth century', when Constantine issued an edict (not requiring its religious observance, but simply abstinence from work) reading, 'let all the judges and people of the town rest and all the various trades be suspended on the venerable day of the sun.' At the time of the issue of this edict, Constantine was a sun-worshipper; therefore it could have had no relation whatever to Christianity. —HENRY M. TABER. Faith or Fact (preface by Robert G. Ingersoll), page 112. I challenge any priest or minister of the Christian religion to show me the slightest authority for the religious observance of Sunday. And, if such cannot be shown by them, why is it that they are constantly preaching about Sunday as a holy day? … The claim that Sunday takes the place of Saturday, and that because the Jews were supposed to be commanded to keep the seventh day of the week holy, therefore the first day of the week should be so kept by Christians, is so utterly absurd as to be hardly worth considering....That Paul habitually observed and preached on the seventh day of the week, is shown in Acts 18:4-'And be reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath' (Saturday). —Id., pages ,114, 116. LUTHERAN QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The observance of the Lord's Day (Sunday) is founded not on any command of God, but on the authority of the Church." Augsburg Confession of Faith. They [the Catholics] 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, say they, is the power and authority of the church, since it dispensed with one of the Ten Commandments. —Augsburg Confession of Faith, Art. 28, par. 9. They [Roman Catholics] allege the change of the Sabbath into the Lord's day, as it seemeth, to the Decalogue [the ten commandments]; and they have no example more in their mouths than they change of the Sabbath. They will needs have the Church's power to be very great, because it hath dispensed with the precept of the Decalogue. —The Augsburg Confession, 1530 A.D. (Lutheran), part 2, art 7, in Philip Schaff, the Creeds of Christiandom, 4th Edition, vol 3, p64 [this important statement was made by the Lutherans and written by Melanchthon, only thirteen years after Luther nailed his theses to the door and began the Reformation]. For up to this day mankind has absolutely trifled with the original and most special revelation of the Holy God, the ten words written upon the tables of the Law from Sinai. —Crown Theological Library, page I78. The Christians in the ancient church very soon distinguished the first day of the week, Sunday; however, not as a Sabbath, but as an assembly day of the church, to study the Word of God together, and to celebrate the ordinances one with another: without a shadow of doubt, this took place as early as the first part of the second century. —Bishop GRIMELUND, History of the Sabbath, page 60. The festival of Sunday, like all other festivals, was always only a human ordinance. —AUGUSTUS NEANDER, History of the Christian Religion and Church, Vol. 1, page 186. I wonder exceedingly how it came to be imputed to me that I should reject the law of Ten Commandments...Whosoever abrogates the law must of necessity abrogate sin also. —MARTIN LUTHER, Spiritual Antichrist, pages 71, 72. We have seen how gradually the impression of the Jewish Sabbath faded from the mind of the Christian church, and how completely the newer thought underlying the observance of the first day took possession of the church. We have seen that the Christian of the first three centuries never confused one with the other, but for a time celebrated both. —The Sunday Problem, a study book by the Lutheran Church (1923) p.36 But they err in teaching that Sunday has taken the place of the Old Testament Sabbath and therefore must be kept as the seventh day had to be kept by the children of Israel .... These churches err in their teaching, for scripture has in no way ordained the first day of the week in place of the Sabbath. There is simply no law in the New Testament to that effect —John Theodore Mueller, Sabbath or Sunday, pp.15, 16 LUTHERAN FREE CHURCH QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH For when there could not be produced one solitary place in the Holy Scriptures which testified that either the Lord Himself or the apostles had ordered such a transfer of the Sabbath to Sunday, then it was not easy to answer the question: Who has transferred the Sabbath, and who has the right to do it? —George Sverdrup, ‘A New Day.’ METHODIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH This 'handwriting of ordinances' our Lord did blot out, take away, and nail to His cross. (Colossians 2: 14.) But the moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, He did not take away.... The moral law stands on an entirely different foundation from the ceremonial or ritual law. ...Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind and in all ages. —JOHN WESLEY, Sermons on Several Occasions, 2-Vol. Edition, Vol. I, pages 221, 222. No Christian whatsoever is free from the obedience of the commandments which are called moral. —Methodist Church Discipline, (I904), page 23. The Sabbath was made for MAN; not for the Hebrews, but for all men. —E.O. HAVEN, Pillars of Truth, page 88. The reason we observe the first day instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority for changing from the seventh day to the first. The early Christians began to worship on the first day of the week because Jesus rose from the dead on that day. By and by, this day of worship was made also a day of rest, a legal holiday. This took place in the year 321. The reason we observe the first day instead of the seventh is based on no positive command. One will search the Scriptures in vain for authority for changing from the seventh day to the first... Our Christian Sabbath, therefore, is not a matter of positive command. It is a gift of the church... —CLOVIS G. CHAPPELL, Ten Rules for Living, page 61. Sabbath in the Hebrew language signifies rest, and is the seventh day of the week... and it must be confessed that there is no law in the New Testament concerning the first day. —Charles Buck, A Theological Dictionary, Sabbath In the days of very long ago the people of the world began to give names to everything, and they turned the sounds of the lips into words, so that the lips could speak a thought. In those days the people worshiped the sun because many words were made to tell of many thoughts about many things. The people became Christians and were ruled by an emperor whose name was Constantine. This emperor made Sunday the Christian Sabbath, because of the blessing of light and heat which came from the sun. So our Sunday is a sun-day, isn't it? —Sunday School Advocate, Dec. 31, 1921. The moral law contained in the Ten Commandments, and enforced by the prophets, He [Christ] did not take away. It was not the design of His coming to revoke any part of this. This is a law which never can be broken... Every part of this law must remain in force upon all mankind and in all ages; as not depending either on time or place, or any other circumstances liable to change, but on the nature of God and the nature of man, and their unchangeable relation to each other. —JOHN WESLEY, Sermons on Several Occasions, Vol. I, Sermon XXV. The Sabbath instituted in the beginning, and confirmed again and again by Moses and the prophets, has never been abrogated. A part of the moral law, not a jot or a tittle of its sanctity has been taken away. —New York Herald 1874, on the Methodist Episcopal Bishops Pastoral 1874 MISCELLANEOUS QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH You will tell me that Saturday was the Jewish Sabbath, but that the Christian Sabbath has been changed to Sunday. Changed! But by whom? Who has authority to change an express commandment of Almighty God? When God has spoken and said, 'Thou shalt keep holy the seventh day,' who shall dare to say, 'Nay, thou mayest work and do all manner of business on the seventh day; but thou shalt keep holy the first day in its stead'? This is a most important question, which I know not how you can answer. You are a Protestant, and you profess to go by the Bible and the Bible only; and yet in so important a matter as the observance of one day in seven as a holy day, you go against the plain letter of the Bible, and put another day in the place of that day which the Bible has commanded. The command to keep holy the seventh day is one of the Ten Commandments; you believe that the other nine are still binding; who gave you authority to tamper with the fourth? If you are consistent with your own principles, if you really follow the Bible and the Bible only, you ought to be able to produce some portion of the New Testament in which this fourth commandment is expressly altered. —The Library of Christian Doctrine, pages 3, 4. The first precept in the Bible is that of sanctifying the seventh day: 'God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it.' Genesis 2:3. This precept was confirmed by God in the Ten Commandments: 'Remember the Sabbath day to keep It holy. ...The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord thy God.' Exodus 20: 8, 10. On the other hand, Christ declares that He is not come to destroy the law, but to fulfil it. (Matthew 5: 17.) He Himself observed the Sabbath: 'And, as His custom was, He went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day.' Luke 4: r6. His disciples likewise observed it after His death: 'They . . . rested the Sabbath day, according to the commandment.' Luke 23: 56. Yet with all this weight of Scripture authority for keeping the Sabbath or seventh day holy, Protestants of all denominations make this a profane day and transfer the obligation of it to the first day of the week, or the Sunday. Now what authority have they for doing this? None at all but the unwritten word, or tradition of the Catholic Church, which declares that the apostle made the change in honour of Christ's resurrection, and the descent of the Holy Ghost on that day of the week. —JOHN MILNER, The End of Religious Controversy, page 71. Sabbath means, of course, Saturday, the seventh day of the week, but the early Christians changed the observance to Sunday, to honour the day on which Christ arose from the dead. —FULTON OURSLER. Cosmopolitan, Sept. 1951, pages 34, 35. I do not pretend to be even an amateur scholar of the Scriptures. I read the Decalogue merely as an average man searching for guidance, and in the immortal 'Ten Words' I find a blueprint for the good life. —Id., page 33. Most certainly the Commandments are needed today, perhaps more than ever before. Their divine message confronts us with a profound moral challenge in an epidemic of evil; a unifying message acceptable alike to Jew, Moslem, and Christian. Who, reading the Ten in the light of history and of current events, can doubt their identity with the eternal law of nature? —Id., page 124. The Sabbath is commanded to be kept on the seventh day. It could not be kept on any other day. To observe the first day of the week or the fourth is not to observe the Sabbath. . . . It was the last day of the week, after six days of work, that was to be kept holy. The observance of no other day would fulfil the law. —H. J. FLOWERS, B.A., B.D., The Permanent Value of the Ten Commandments, page 13. The evaluation of Sunday, the traditionally accepted day of the resurrection of Christ, has varied greatly throughout the centuries of the Christian Era. From time to time it has been confused with the seventh day of the week, the Sabbath. English speaking peoples have been the most consistent in perpetuating the erroneous assumption that the obligation of the fourth commandment has passed over to Sunday. In popular speech, Sunday is frequently, but erroneously, spoken of as the Sabbath. —F. M. SETZLER, Head Curator, Department of Anthropology, Smithsonian Institute, from a letter dated Sept. 1, 1949. He that observes the Sabbath aright holds the history of that which it celebrates to be authentic, and therefore believes in the creation of the first man; in the creation of a fair abode for man in the space of six days; in the primeval and absolute creation of the heavens and the earth, and, as a necessary antecedent to all this, in the Creator, who at the close of His latest creative effort, rested on the seventh day. The Sabbath thus becomes a sign by which the believers in a historical revelation are distinguished from those who have allowed these great facts to fade from their remembrance. —JAMES G. MURPHY, Commentary on the Book of Exodus, comments on Exodus 20: 8-11. MOODY BIBLE INSTITUTE QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The Sabbath was binding in Eden, and it has been in force ever since. This fourth commandment begins with the word 'remember,' showing that the Sabbath already existed when God wrote the law on the tables of stone at Sinai. How can men claim that this one commandment has been done away with when they will admit that the other nine are still binding? —D.L. MOODY, Weighed and Wanting, page 47. I honestly believe that this commandment [the fourth, or Sabbath commandment] is just as binding today as it ever was. I have talked with men who have said that it has been abrogated, but they have never been able to point to any place in the Bible where God repealed it. When Christ was on earth, He did nothing to set it aside; He freed it from the traces under which the scribes and Pharisees had put it, and gave it its true place. 'The Sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath.' It is just as practicable and as necessary for men today as it ever was-in fact, more than ever, because we live in such an intense age. —Id., page 46. This Fourth is not a commandment for one place, or one time, but for all places and times. —D.L. Moody, at San Francisco, Jan. 1st, 1881. PRESBYTERIAN QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The Christian Sabbath (Sunday) is not in the Scriptures, and was not by the primitive church called the Sabbath. —Dwight's Theology, Vol. 14, p. 401. A further argument for the perpetuity of the Sabbath we have in Matthew 24:20, Pray ye that your flight be not in the winter neither on the Sabbath day. But the final destruction of Jerusalem was after the Christian dispensation was fully set up (AD 70). Yet it is plainly implied in these words of the Lord that even then Christians were bound to strict observation of the Sabbath. —Works of Jonathon Edwards, (Presby.) Vol. 4, p. 621. We must not imagine that the coming of Christ has freed us from the authority of the law; for it is the eternal rule of a devout and holy life, and must therefore be as unchangeable as the justice of God, which it embraced, is constant and uniform. —JOHN CALVIN, Commentary on a Harmony of the Gospels, Vol. 1, page 277. God instituted the Sabbath at the creation of man, setting apart the seventh day for the purpose, and imposed its observance as a universal and perpetual moral obligation upon the race. —American Presbyterian Board of Publication, Tract No. 175. The observance of the seventh-day Sabbath did not cease till it was abolished after the [Roman] empire became Christian, ... —American Presbyterian Board of Publication, Tract No. 118. The moral law doth for ever bind all, as well justified persons as others, to the obedience thereof; and that not only in regard to the matter contained in it, but also in respect of the authority of God the Creator who gave it. Neither doth Christ in the gospel in any way dissolve, but much strengthen this obligation. —Westminster Confession of Faith, Chap. 19, Art. 5. The Sabbath is a part of the Decalogue-the Ten Commandments. This alone for ever settles the question as to the perpetuity of the institution ... Until, therefore, it can be shown that the whole moral law has been repealed, the Sabbath will stand...The teaching of Christ confirms the perpetuity of the Sabbath. —T.C. BLAKE, D.D., Theology Condensed, pages 474, 475. Sunday being the first day of which the Gentiles solemnly adored that planet and called it Sunday, partly from its influence on that day especially, and partly in respect to its divine body (as they conceived it) the Christians thought fit to keep the same day and the same name of it, that they might not appear carelessly peevish, and by that means hinder the conversion of the Gentiles, and bring a greater prejudice that might be otherwise taken against the gospel —T.M. Morer, Dialogues on the Lord's Day There is no word, no hint in the New Testament about abstaining from work on Sunday. The observance of Ash Wednesday, or Lent, stands exactly on the same footing as the observance of Sunday. Into the rest of Sunday no Divine Law enters. —Canon Eyton, in The Ten Commandments. Some have tried to build the observance of Sunday upon Apostolic command, whereas the Apostles gave no command on the matter at all.... The truth is, so soon as we appeal to the litera scripta [literal writing] of the Bible, the Sabbatarians have the best of the argument. —The Christian at Work, April 19, 1883, and Jan. 1884 PROTESTANT EPISCOPAL QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The day is now changed from the seventh to the first day ... but as we meet with no Scriptural direction for the change, we may conclude it was done by the authority of the church. —‘Explanation of Catechism’ SOUTHERN BAPTIST QUOTES ABOUT THE SABBATH The sacred name of the Seventh day is Sabbath. This fact is too clear to require argument [Exodus 20:10 quoted]… on this point the plain teaching of the Word has been admitted in all ages… Not once did the disciples apply the Sabbath law to the first day of the week, -- that folly was left for a later age, nor did they pretend that the first day supplanted the seventh. —Joseph Hudson Taylor, ‘The Sabbatic Question’, p. 14-17, 41. The first four commandments set forth man's obligations directly toward God.... But when we keep the first four commandments, we are likely to keep the other six. . . . The fourth commandment sets forth God's claim on man's time and thought.... The six days of labour and the rest on the Sabbath are to be maintained as a witness to God's toil and rest in the creation. . . . No one of the ten words is of merely racial significance.... The Sabbath was established originally (long before Moses) in no special connection with the Hebrews, but as an institution for all mankind, in commemoration of God's rest after the six days of creation. It was designed for all the descendants of Adam. —Adult Quarterly, Southern Baptist Convention series, Aug. 15, 1937. Previous Back to Contents Next Top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next The Spirit of Jesus is Our Comforter WE HAVE BEEN LIED TO. THE SPIRIT OF JESUS IS OUR COMFORTER. NOT SOME OTHER GOD AS THE TRINITY CLAIMS! “This refers to the omnipresence of the Spirit of Christ, called the Comforter.” — (Ellen G. White, 14MR 179.2) “Let them study the seventeenth of John, and learn how to pray and how to live the prayer of CHRIST. HE is THE Comforter. He will abide in their hearts, making their joy full.” — (Ellen G. White, Review and Herald, January 27, 1903) “As by faith we look to Jesus, our faith pierces the shadow, and we adore God for His wondrous love in giving JESUS THE COMFORTER.” — (Ellen G. White, 19MR 297.3) “Christ is to be known by the blessed name of Comforter. “The Comforter,” said Christ to His disciples, “which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in My name, He shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you, [John 14:26 quoted]” — (E.G. White, Ms7-1902, January 26, 1902) “The Saviour is our Comforter. This I have proved Him to be.” — (Ellen G. White, 8MR 49.3) Jesus said, “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” John 14:18 __________________________________________________________ NOTE: God raised the Adventist Church as non-Trinitarian. The Trinity doctrine was slowly brought into the Adventist Church long AFTER the death of Ellen White and the pioneers by a suspected Jesuit who is also a known Freemason. The idea of the Holy Spirit as another being was Satan's idea so he could get worship for his creation. The real truth is that the “Holy Spirit” is the power and presence of God and of Christ which can function independently of themselves like a third (but not a literal third) and is how “They” represent “Themselves” where they are not personally present. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Christ Appeared to the Patriachs and Prophets I’m citing a few passage below where the “Almighty” appeared or spoke directly to the patriarchs and the prophets: Gen 35:11 And God said unto him[Jacob], I am God Almighty: be fruitful and multiply; a nation and a company of nations shall be of thee, and kings shall come out of thy loins; Gen 48:3 “3 And Jacob said unto Joseph, God Almighty appeared unto me at Luz in the land of Canaan, and blessed me, Exodus 6:1-3 “Then the Lord said unto Moses, Now shalt thou see what I will do to Pharaoh: for with a strong hand shall he let them go, and with a strong hand shall he drive them out of his land. 2 And God spake unto Moses, and said unto him, I am the Lord: 3 And I appeared unto Abraham, unto Isaac, and unto Jacob, by the name of God Almighty, but by my name Jehovah was I not known to them. Exodus 33:11 “And the Lord spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” Exodus 33: 19-23 "And he said, I will make all my goodness pass before thee, and I will proclaim the name of the LORD before thee; and will be gracious to whom I will be gracious, and will shew mercy on whom I will shew mercy. And he said, Thou canst not see my face: for there shall no man see me, and live……And I will take away mine hand, and thou shalt see my back parts: but my face shall not be seen. The Almighty appearing to the patriarchs are generally understood to mean that the Father appeared to them... And yet, we are told that no one has seen God: John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time, the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him. John 5:37 “And the Father himself, which hath sent me, hath borne witness of me. Ye have neither heard his voice at any time, NOR SEEN HIS SHAPE.” 1 Tim. 6:13-16. “I give thee charge in the sight of God, who quickeneth all things...who is the blessed and only Potentate, the King of Kings, and Lord of lords; who only hath immortality, dwelling in the light which no man can approach unto; whom NO MAN HATH SEEN, NOR CAN SEE; to whom be honor and power everlasting." The way I reconcile these seemingly contradictory statement is that Christ acted in Father's stead as the God of the Old Testament. both Scripture and SOP (if you believe in the writings of Ellen White) make it pretty clear. One thing most people overlook is that the “Almighty” that spoke to Moses on the Mount Sinai actually appeared to him as the “Angel of the Lord.” "Behold, I send an ANGEL before thee, to keep thee in the way, and TO BRING THEE INTO THE PLACE WHICH I HAVE PREPARED. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for HE WILL NOT PARDON YOUR TRANSGRESSIONS: FOR MY NAME IS IN HIM." (Ex. 23:20,21) "And when forty years were expired, there appeared to him in the wilderness of mount Sina an ANGEL OF THE LORD in a flame of fire in a bush. When Moses saw it, he wondered at the sight: and as he drew near to behold it, THE VOICE OF THE LORD came unto him, Saying, I am the God of thy fathers, the God of Abraham, and the God of Isaac, and the God of Jacob. Then Moses trembled, and durst not behold." (Acts 7:30-32) "This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the ANGEL which SPAKE TO HIM in the mount Sina, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us." (v. 38) [mine] “Christ is the One THROUGH WHOM God has AT ALL TIMES revealed Himself to man. “BUT TO US THERE IS BUT ONE GOD, THE FATHER, of whom are all things, and we in Him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by Him.” 1 Corinthians 8:6. “This is he [Moses], that was in the church in the wilderness with the Angel which spake to him in the Mount Sinai, and with our fathers: who received the lively oracles to give unto us.” Acts 7:38. This Angel was the Angel of God’s presence (Isaiah 63:9), THE ANGEL IN WHOM WAS THE NAME OF THE GREAT JEVOHAH (Exodus 23:20-23). THE EXPRESSION CAN REFER TO NO OTHER THAN THE SON OF GOD.” {PP 761.4} “The priest went through the ceremony of his official work. He took the child in his arms, and held it up before the altar. After handing it back to its mother, he inscribed the name “Jesus” on the roll of the first-born. Little did he think, as the babe lay in his arms, that it was the Majesty of heaven, the King of glory. The priest did not think that this babe was the One of whom Moses had written, “A Prophet shall the Lord your God raise up unto you of your brethren, like unto me; Him shall ye hear in all things whatsoever He shall say unto you.” Acts 3:22. HE DID NOT THINK THAT THIS BABE WAS HE WHOSE GLORY MOSES HAD ASKED TO SEE. But One greater than Moses lay in the priest’s arms; and when he enrolled the child’s name, he was enrolling the name of One who was the foundation of the whole Jewish economy. {DA 52.2} Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Who is Jesus to Me Who is Jesus to Me? Jesus is the Son of the one true God who loves His Son very much. And yet His Father loves us so much that he sent His only begotten Son to die for us. (John 3:16) And yet it seems with all the lies that Satan has perpetuated, that people are questioning this and the hundreds of Scriptures that state ever so clearly that they are a Father and Son, and that there was a risk of eternal loss. Yet this is the mindset Satan has successfully got people to take. There is only one way you can be a Father and Son. And that means that the only being that has always existed, and had no beginning is the one true God the Father. However, in a sense Jesus has always existed. But as God’s Son, he had a beginning and came from what is known as the days of eternity. The time before all things were created. Consider the following. If we could travel at a septuagintacentillion times the speed of light in any one direction, would we ever find the end of the universe, like perhaps a wall with a sign saying this is the end? And if so, what would be on the other side of that wall? And what existed before God created all things through His Son? Was it nothing? And how long did nothing exist for if that was the case? It would have to be forever. And what about God, when did He begin to exist and who created Him? The answer is that there was never a time He did not exist and hence could never have been created. He is God and has always been and so is without beginning. And what about the Son of God who was born of the same substance of God? The same applies. Since Christ is the same substance of His Father, then everything He consists of had no beginning. So His divinity had no beginning, His makeup; His nature had no beginning as it all came from the Father. So in principle, everything Christ is had no beginning. If you trace Christ back you will have to go through the Father and you will never get to a beginning. But His personality as the Son of God began when He was brought forth by His Father. So in effect it was only the personality of Christ that had a beginning. And why should we care if He did? Does this make Him any less of a Saviour? He is God’s Son! So why do some insist on trying to make Christ conform to the image they have of Him before they will accept Him? They expect Christ to be a second god identical to His Father in every way and thus reject Him as being a real Son. And yet the truth of Christ being God's Son is so precious. Just think about it for a moment. Christ is God's very own Son whom He loves very much! Why would anyone desire to destroy this precious Father and Son relationship? There is one being that desires to do this. He wanted to be worshipped like the most high and was jealous of God’s Son. It is Satan! His plan is to have us deny Jesus is the Son of God. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

独一真神中文事工坚定和致力于遵循基督复临安息日会先贤於1889年实践和相信的基本原则。 独一真神中文事工坚守 1889 年基督复临安息日会所实践和相信的基本原则，并承认这些原则已得到圣灵的确认和见证（《信函》第95号，1905年,原文第3段），因此“是以绝无疑问的权威为根据的”。 主的使者——怀爱伦 (Ellen G. White) 写道： "上帝要我们坚持基本的原则 ，这些原则乃是以绝无疑问的权威为根据的 " （《教会证言-卷八》，原文第298页，第2段） "有一件事是肯定的，很快就要实现，就是大背道。大背道正在发展扩张，日益加强，并继续增长到主发出呼叫的声音从天降临之日 。我们务须坚守我们教会早期信仰的原则 ，并向前迈进，力量和信心也随着增长。我们应持守从我们经验的早期直到现今上帝的圣灵所支持证实的信仰 。我们现在需要对圣灵的领导有更广大、更深切、更恳挚和坚定不移的信仰。假如我们在早期需要圣灵能力的彰显，作为凭据，来证明真理，现在年载消逝，时至今日，人心正离弃信仰，跟随引诱人的邪灵和鬼魔的道理 ，我们仍需要一切证明真理的凭据，现在切不可有任何灵魂渐渐衰弱。假如在什么时候，我们需要有圣灵的能力灌注在我们的谈话中，在我们的祷告中，在每一项建议的行动中，那就是现在了。我们不要停滞在早期的经验上，固然我们向人们宣讲的还是同样的信息，但这信息应予以加强和扩大 。我们应根据这信息可靠的神圣来源，看出并认明它的重要性。我们务须竭力追求认识耶和华，就可知道他出现确如晨光。我们的心灵极需从万能之源而来的复苏。我们可从过去的经验得着力量和鼓励，而这些经验曾导引我们获致真理的要点，使我们成为现在这一群——安息日复临信徒 。"(《信函》 第326号, 1905年，原文第2段) 先贤怀雅各(James S. White)写道： “安息日复临信徒这个名字确实代表了我们的信仰和实践，这一点是无可否认的。 它是谦虚和谦卑的，并且指向圣父和圣子 ，这也是毫无疑问的 。 那么，每个热爱现代真理的人岂不应该全心全意地采用它吗？” （《复临信徒评论与安息日通讯》，1861 年 11 月 19 日，原文第197页，第12段）[ARSH, Nov. 19, 1861, p. 197.12] 1889年基督复临安息日会信徒的基本原则 FUNDAMENTAL PRINCIPLES OF SEVENTH-DAY ADVENTI S TS IN 1889 中文 English 中英对照 正如其他地方所述，基督复临安息日会没有任何信条，只有圣经； 但是他们持守一些明确定义的信仰，为此他们准备好为“每个询问”他们的人提供理由。 以下陈述可被视为他们宗教信仰主要特征的摘要， 据我们所知，这些都是全体信徒一致同意的。他们相信，—— 一、有一位上帝，一个有位格的灵体生物，是万物的创造主，是全能、全知、及永恒的，有无穷的智慧、圣洁、公义、良善、诚实和慈爱；是永不改变的，藉着祂的代表，即圣灵，祂无处不在。（诗 139：7） 二、有一位主——耶稣基督，永恒之父的儿子，父藉着祂创造了万物，万有也靠祂而立； 祂取了亚伯拉罕后裔的本性，以救赎我们堕落的人类； 祂住在人间，满有恩典和真理，一生为我们的榜样，为我们牺牲，为叫我们称义而被复活，升到高处，成为我们在天上圣所的唯一中保，在那里，藉着祂流血的功劳， 祂使所有悔改归向祂的人的罪孽得到赦免和宽恕； 作为祂作祭司工作的结束部分，在祂作王登上宝座前，祂将为他们的罪孽行大赎罪，他们的罪将被涂抹（徒 3：19）并从圣所除去，如那预示和代表了我们的主在天上事工的利未祭司的职任所示。见利 16; 希 8：4，5; 9：6，7; 等。 三、旧约和新约圣经，都是上帝所默示的，其中包含上帝向人类对祂旨意的全部启示。圣经是信仰和实践的唯一无误准绳。 四，洗礼是基督教会的礼节，遵循信心和悔改，——是我们纪念基督复活的一个礼节，因为藉着这一行为，我们表明我们对祂的埋葬和复活的信心，也藉此，对所有圣徒在末日的复活存有信心；并且没有其他方式比圣经所规定的方式更恰当地代表这些事实，即全身受浸。罗 6：3-5；西 2：12。 五，重生包括使我们进入上帝的国度所需要的全部改变，其中包含两个部分；首先，悔改归主和基督化生活所带来的道德改变（约 3：3，5）；第二，基督复临时身体的变化，如果我们死了，我们就复活成为不朽坏的，如果我们活着，就在一霎时，眨眼之间变成不死的。路 20：36；林前 15：51，52。 六，预言是上帝对人的一部分启示；它包含在对教导人有益的圣经中（提后 3：16）；它是给我们和我们的子孙的（申 29：29）；远非笼罩在难以测透的奥秘之中，它特别构成上帝的圣言，作我们脚前的灯和路上的光（诗 119：105；彼后 1：19）；凡研究它的必得祝福（启 1：1-3）；因此，上帝的子民应该充分理解它，以向他们表明他们在世界历史中所处的位置以及他们手中特殊的责任。 七，从过去的特定日期开始的世界历史，帝国的兴衰，以及按时间顺序发生的事件，一直到上帝永恒国度的建立，都在无数伟大的预言链中概述；除了最后的几幕场景外，这些预言都已经应验了。 八，普世悔改和属世的千禧年之道理是末时的虚谎，旨在使人们陷入肉体的安逸之中，并使主的大日临到他们，像夜间的贼一样（帖前 5：3）；基督的复临是在千禧年之前，而不是之后；因为直到主显现之前，罗马天主教皇势力及其一切可憎之物将继续存在（帖后 2：8），麦子和稗子一起生长（太 13：29，30，39），作恶的和迷惑人的，必越久越恶，正如上帝的话语所宣告的（提后 3：1，13）。 九，1844年复临信徒的错误只攸关当时要发生的事件的性质，而与事件发生的时间无关 ；即没有预言时期是为计算第二次降临而给予的，但最长的一个预言时期，即 但 8：14 中的二千三百日，已于1844年结束，并为我们指向一个称为洁净圣所的事件。 十，新约的圣所就是上帝在天上的帐幕，保罗在希伯来书第8章及之后的章节中谈到了这一点，即是我们的主作为大祭司供职的地方；这个圣所是摩西帐幕所预表的实体，而与此相关的，我们的主作祭司的工作则是前一个时代犹太祭司工作的实体（来 8：1-5 等）；这个天上圣所，而不是地球，是在二千三百日结束时要被洁净的，在这种情况下，所谓的洁净，正如在预表中一样，只是大祭司进入至圣所，完成与此相关的圣职，藉着进行赎罪的工作并从圣所中除去通过在第一层圣所的供职转移到至圣所的罪孽（利 16; 来 9：22，23）；这项工作的实体始于 1844 年，在于涂抹信徒的罪（徒 3：19），并且占据了短暂但不确定的时期，在其结束时，对世界进行的怜悯之工作就会结束，届时基督将会第二次降临。 十一，上帝的道德要求在每一个时代对所有人都是相同的； 这些都已概括地包含在耶和华在西奈山上颁布的诫命中，刻在石版上，并存放在柜中，因此这柜被称为“约柜”，或法柜（民 10：33；来 9：4等）； 这律法是不可变更和永远长存的，是存放在天上真正圣所的约柜中之石版的副本，出于同样的原因，约柜也被称为上帝的法柜； 因为在第七号吹响时，我们得知“上帝天上的殿开了，在祂殿中现出祂的约柜”。 启 11：19。 十二，该律法的第四条诫命要求我们在每周的第七日（普遍称为星期六）禁戒我们自己的工作，并履行神圣和宗教的职责； 这是圣经中唯一指明的每周的安息日，是在失去乐园之前所分别的日子（创 2：2,3），也是在恢复乐园后将继续遵守的一日（赛 66：22,23）； 这些安息日制度所依据的事实将其限制在第七日，因为它们并不适用于任何其他日子；犹太人的安息日（应用于第七日）和基督教的安息日（应用于一周的第一日）这些术语都是人类发明的名称，事实上不符合圣经，而且含义错误。 十三，作为大罪人，罗马教皇必想改变节期和律法（上帝的律法，但 7：25），并且在第四条诫命上误导了几乎整个基督教界，我们发现了一个与此相关的预言，论到在基督复临之前，这方面的改革将在信徒中进行。 赛 56：1，2； 彼前 1：5； 启 14：12等。 十四，基督的跟随者应该是一群独特的子民，不追随世界的规律，也不效法世界的做法；不喜爱其欢乐，也不纵容其愚行； 正如使徒所说：“所以凡想要与世俗为友的，就是与上帝为敌了。”（雅 4：4）； 基督说我们不能有两个主，或者同时又侍奉上帝，又侍奉玛门。 太 6：24。 十五，圣经坚决提倡，对于凡宣称自己是那“心里柔和谦卑”之主的门徒来说，着装朴素和端庄是门徒身份的显着标志，根据提前 2：9，10； 彼前 3：3，4等经文，以黄金、珍珠和贵价的衣裳为妆饰，或任何仅仅为了装饰个人和培养本性的骄傲而设计的东西，都应该弃绝。 十六，支持福音工作的收入来源应该出自人们对上帝的爱和对世人的爱，而不是透过教会彩票或旨在促进罪人爱宴乐、放纵食欲的活动来筹集。例如集市 、节庆、牡蛎晚餐、茶会、扫帚、驴和疯狂的社交活动等等，这些都是自称是基督的教会的耻辱；从前的体制对人们收入所要求的比例，在福音时代也不能少。；亚伯拉罕也是如此（我们既属乎基督，就是亚伯拉罕的后裔，加 3：29），他把将自己所得来的，取十分之一给麦基洗德（基督的预表）（来 7：1-4）； 因为十分之一是属于耶和华的（利 27：30）；除了人们收入的十分一之外，有能力的人也需以额外的捐献来补足，以支持福音的工作。 林后 9：6； 玛 3：8,10。 十七，由于顺性或属肉体的心是与上帝和祂的律法为敌的，这种敌意唯有藉着将不圣洁的原则换成圣洁的原则，达到情感上的彻底转变才能克服、这种转变伴随着悔改和信心，是圣灵的特殊工作，并构成了重生，或悔改归主。 十八，由于所有人都违背了上帝的律法，并且不能靠自己顺从祂公正的要求，因此我们要依靠基督，首先，使我们从过去的过犯中称义，其次，靠着恩典，使我们在将来能够对他神圣的律法献上可蒙悦纳的顺从。 十九，上帝应许祂的灵要藉着某些恩赐在教会中显现它自己，特别是在 林前 12 和 弗 4 中所列举的；因为圣经本身就足以使我们有得救的智慧，所以这些恩赐并不是为了取代或代替圣经，就正如圣经无法取代圣灵一样；藉着不同的运作方式 ，圣灵会显现它自己并与上帝的子民同在，引导人们理解它所默示的话语，使人们知罪， 并在内心和生活中做出改变 ，一直到世界的末了；那些否认圣灵的地位和工作的人，显然否认了圣经中指定圣灵的工作和地位的部分。 二十，上帝按照祂统一对待世人的原则，宣告基督第二次降临的临近；这项工作是启示录第14章的三重信息所代表的，该信息也是最后一个揭示基于上帝律法的改革工作的信息，使祂的子民可以为这事件做好充分的准备。 二十一，洁净圣所的时期（参阅第十条），与宣告第三天使信息的时期同步（启 14：9，10），是一个查案审判的时期。首先，审判已经死了的人，然后，审判在恩典时期结束时活着的人，以决定现在沉睡在地球尘埃中的无数人中，谁配得在第一次的复活中有份，以及在活着的群众中，谁配得被接升天，——在主降临之前必须确定的几个要点。 二十二，用希伯来文“sheol”和希腊文“hades”来表达的“阴间”一词，无论我们愿意与否，都是指一个“没有工作、谋略、智慧或知识”的地方或状态。 传 9：10。 二十三，死亡使我们陷入一种沉默、无活动和完全无意识的状态。诗 146：4； 传9：5，6； 但 12：2。 二十四，人类将透过身体的复活从这个监狱般的坟墓中被释放出来； 义人在基督复临时的第一次复活里有份； 而恶人则在一千年之后的第二次复活里有份。 启 20：4-6。 二十五，在号筒末次吹响时，活着的义人将在一霎时、眨眼之间被改变，并与复活的义人一同被提到空中与主相遇，从此与主永远同在。 帖前 4：16，17； 林前 15：51，52。 二十六，然后，这些不朽坏的人被带到天国的新耶路撒冷，天父的家，那里有许多住处（约14：1-3），他们在那里与基督一同作王一千年，审判世界和堕落的天使，分配在一千年结束时要对他们执行的惩罚（启 20：4；林前 6：2，3）； 在此期间，地球处于荒凉和混乱的状态（耶 4：23-27），这就正如地球起初的状态那样，是用希腊术语“abussos”——“无底坑”来描述的（七十士译本中的创 1：2）； 撒旦将在这里被困一千年（启 20：1，2），并在这里最终被毁灭（启 20：10；玛 4：1）；这个因他的原故而成了宇宙中的一个废墟的剧场，正好适合暂时当他的阴暗监狱，和他最后被处刑的地方。 二十七，一千年结束时，主与祂的子民和新耶路撒冷一起降临（启 21：2），死了的恶人要复活，来到尚未更新的地表上，聚集在圣城周围， 即圣徒的营（启 20：9），有火由上帝那里从天降下并吞噬了他们。 然后，他们的根本和枝条都会被烧尽（玛 4：1），他们就归于无有。 （俄 1：15，16）。 他们要受永远灭亡的刑罚，离开主的面（帖后 1：9），恶人要面临向他们宣布的“永刑”（太 25：46），即永远的死亡。 罗 6：23； 启 20：14,15。 这就是不敬虔之人的灭亡，那烧灭他们的火，虽然“现在的诸天与地还是…存留” ，但到时候，连各种元素也要熔化，又要清除一切由罪孽的咒诅在地球上造成之最深的污迹。彼后 3：7-12。 二十八，新天新地将藉着上帝的大能从旧世界的灰烬中诞生，而这个更新的地球，以新耶路撒冷为大都市和首都，将成为圣徒永恒的产业，并义人永远居住的地方。彼后 3：13； 诗 37：11，29; 太 5：5。 As elsewhere stated, Seventh-day Adventists have no creed but the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which they feel prepared to give a reason "to every man that asketh" them. The following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principal features of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as we know, entire unanimity throughout the body. They believe, — I – That there is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Ps. 139： 7. II – That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all things, and by whom they do consist; that he took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, through the merits of his shed blood, he secures the pardon and forgiveness of the sins of all those who penitently come to him; and as the closing portion of his work as priest, before he takes his throne as king, he will make the great atonement for the sins of all such, and their sins will then be blotted out (Acts 3：19) and borne away from the sanctuary, as shown in the service of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in heaven. See Lev. 16; Heb. 8：4, 5; 9：6, 7; 2; etc. III – That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, contain a full revelation of his will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. IV – That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church, to follow faith and repentance, —an ordinance by which we commemorate the resurrection of Christ, as by this act we show our faith in his burial and resurrection, and through that, in the resurrection of all the saints at the last day; and that no other mode more fitly represents these facts than that which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, immersion. Rom. 6：3-5; Col. 2：12. V – That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts; First, a moral change wrought by conversion and a Christian life (John 3：3,5); second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorruptible, and if living, are changed to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Luke 20：36; 1 Cor. 15：51,52. VI – That prophecy is a part of God’s revelation to man; that it is included in that Scripture which is profitable for instruction (2 Tim. 3：16); that it is designed for us and our children (Deut. 29：29); that so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially constitutes the word of God a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119：105; 2 Peter 1：19); that a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Rev. 1：1-3); and that, consequently, it is to be understood by the people of God sufficiently to show them their position in the world’s history and the special duties required at their hands. VII – That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes. VIII – That the doctrine of the world’s conversion and a temporal millennium is a fable of these last days, calculated to lull men into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5：3); that the second coming of Christ is to precede, not follow, the millennium; for until the Lord appears, the papal power, with all its abominations, is to continue (2 Thess. 2：8), the wheat and tares grow together (Matt. 13：29,30,39), and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, as the word of God declares. 2 Tim. 3：1,13. IX – That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Dan. 8：14, terminated in 1844, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary. X – That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and onward, and of which our Lord, as great high priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, connected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation (Heb. 8：1-5, etc.); that this, and not the earth, is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand and three hundred days, what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by making the atonement and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been transferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment (Lev. 16; Heb. 9：22,23); and that this work in the antitype, beginning in 1844, consists in actually blotting out the sins of believers (Acts 3：19), and occupies a brief but indefinite space of time, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world will be finished, and the second advent of Christ will take place. XI – That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men in all dispensations; that these are summarily contained in the commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai, engraven on the tables of stone, and deposited in the ark, which was in consequence called the “ark of the covenant,” or testament (Num. 10：33; Heb. 9：4, etc.); that this law is immutable and perpetual, being a transcript of the tables deposited in the ark in the true sanctuary on high, which is also, for the same reason, called the ark of God’s testament; for under the sounding of the seventh trumpet we are told that “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11：19. XII – That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Saturday, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; that this is the only weekly Sabbath known to the Bible, being the day that was set apart before Paradise was lost (Gen. 2：2,3), and which will be observed in Paradise restored (Isa. 66：22,23); that the facts upon which the Sabbath institution is based confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms Jewish Sabbath, as applied to the seventh day, and Christian Sabbath, as applied to the first day of the week, are names of human invention, unscriptural in fact, and false in meaning. XIII – That as the man of sin, the papacy, has thought to change times and laws (the law of God, Dan. 7：25), and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment, we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ. Isa. 56：1,2; 1 Peter 1：5; Rev. 14：12, etc. XIV – That the followers of Christ should be a peculiar people, not following the maxims, nor conforming to the ways, of the world; not loving its pleasures nor countenancing its follies; inasmuch as the apostle says that “whosoever therefore will be” in this sense, “a friend of the world, is the enemy of God” (James 4：4); and Christ says that we cannot have two masters, or, at the same time, serve God and mammon. Matt. 6：24. XV – That the Scriptures insist upon plainness and modesty of attire as a prominent mark of discipleship in those who profess to be the followers of Him who was, “meek and lowly in heart,” that the wearing of gold, pearls, and costly array, or anything designed merely to adorn the person and foster the pride of the natural heart, is to be discarded, according to such scriptures as 1 Tim. 2：9,10; 1 Peter 3：3,4. XVI – That means for the support of evangelical work among men should be contributed from love to God and love of souls, not raised by church lotteries, or occasions designed to contribute to the fun-loving, appetite-indulging propensities of the sinner, such as fairs, festivals, oyster suppers, tea, broom, donkey, and crazy socials, etc., which are a disgrace to the professed church of Christ; that the proportion of one’s income required in former dispensation can be no less under the gospel; that it is the same as Abraham (whose children we are, if we are Christ’s, Gal. 3：29) paid to Melchisedec (type of Christ) when he gave him a tenth of all (Heb. 7：1-4); the tithe is the Lord’s (Lev. 27：30); and this tenth of one’s income is also to be supplemented by offerings from those who are able, for the support of the gospel. 2 Cor. 9：6; Mal. 3：8,10. XVII – That as the natural or carnal heart is at enmity with God and his law, this enmity can be subdued only by a radical transformation of the affections, the exchange of unholy for holy principles; that this transformation follows repentance and faith, is the special work of the Holy Spirit, and constitutes regeneration, or conversion. XVIII – That as all have violated the law of God, and cannot of themselves render obedience to his just requirements, we are dependent on Christ, first, for justification from our past offenses, and, secondly, for grace whereby to render acceptable obedience to his holy law in time to come. XIX – That the Spirit of God was promised to manifest itself in the church through certain gifts, enumerated especially in 1 Cor. 12 and Eph. 4; that these gifts are not designed to supersede, or take the place of, the Bible, which is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, any more than the Bible can take the place of the Holy Spirit; that, in specifying the various channels of its operation, that Spirit has simply made provision for its own existence and presence with the people of God to the end of time, to lead to an understanding of that word which it had inspired, to convince of sin, and to work a transformation in the heart and life; and that those who deny to the Spirit its place and operation, do plainly deny that part of the Bible which assigns to it this work and position. XX – That God, in accordance with his uniform dealings with the race, sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the second advent of Christ; and that this work is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14, the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God, that his people may acquire a complete readiness for that event. XXI – That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (See proposition X.), synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message (Rev. 14：9,10), is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the dead, and secondly, at the close of probation, with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation, – points which must be determined before the Lord appears. XXII – That the grave, whether we all tend, expressed by the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades, is a place, or condition, in which there is no work, device, wisdom, nor knowledge. Eccl. 9：10. XXIII – That the state to which we are reduced by death is one of silence, inactivity, and entire unconsciousness. Ps. 146：4; Eccl. 9：5,6; Dan. 12：2. XXIV – That out of this prison-house of the grave, mankind are to be brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second coming of Christ; the wicked, in the second resurrection, which takes place in a thousand years thereafter. Rev. 20：4-6. XXV – That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the risen righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, so forever to be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4：16,17; 1 Cor. 15：51,52. XXVI – That these immortalized ones are then taken to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, the Father’s house, in which there are many mansions (John 14：1-3), where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels, that is, apportioning the punishment to be executed upon them at the close of the one thousand years (Rev. 20：4; 1 Cor. 6：2,3); that during this time the earth lies in a desolate and chaotic condition (Jer. 4：23-27), described, as in the beginning, by the Greek term abussos—“bottom- less pit” (Septuagint of Gen. 1：2); and that here Satan is confined during the thousand years (Rev. 20：1,2), and here finally destroyed (Rev. 20：10; Mal. 4：1); the theater of the ruin he has wrought in the universe being appropriately made, for a time, his gloomy prison-house, and then the place of his final execution. XXVII – That at the end of the thousand years the Lord descends with his people and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21：2), the wicked dead are raised, and come up on the surface of the yet unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints (Rev. 20：9), and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. They are then consumed, root and branch (Mal. 4：1), becoming as though they had not been. Obad. 15,16. In this everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess. 1：9), the wicked meet the “everlasting punishment” threatened against them (Matt. 25：46), which is everlasting death. Rom. 6：23; Rev. 20：14,15. This is the perdition of ungodly men, the fire which consumes them being the fire for which “the heavens and the earth, which are now,. . . are kept in store,” which shall melt even the elements with its intensity, and purge the earth from the deepest stains of the curse of sin. 2 Peter 3：7-12. XXVIII – That new heavens and a new earth shall spring by the power of God from the ashes of the old, and this renewed earth, with the New Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, shall be the eternal inheritance of the saints, the place where the righteous shall evermore dwell. 2 Peter 3：13; Ps. 37：11,29; Matt 5：5. As elsewhere stated, Seventh-day Adventists have no creed but the Bible; but they hold to certain well-defined points of faith, for which they feel prepared to give a reason "to every man that asketh" them. The following propositions may be taken as a summary of the principal features of their religious faith, upon which there is, so far as we know, entire unanimity throughout the body. They believe, — 正如其他地方所述，基督复临安息日会没有任何信条，只有圣经； 但是他们持守一些明确定义的信仰，为此他们准备好为“每个询问”他们的人提供理由。 以下陈述可被视为他们宗教信仰主要特征的摘要， 据我们所知，这些都是全体信徒一致同意的。他们相信，—— I – That there is one God, a personal, spiritual being, the creator of all things, omnipotent, omniscient, and eternal; infinite in wisdom, holiness, justice, goodness, truth, and mercy; unchangeable, and everywhere present by his representative, the Holy Spirit. Ps. 139： 7. 一、有一位上帝，一个有位格的灵体生物，是万物的创造主，是全能、全知、及永恒的，有无穷的智慧、圣洁、公义、良善、诚实和慈爱；是永不改变的，藉着祂的代表，即圣灵，祂无处不在。（诗 139：7） II – That there is one Lord Jesus Christ, the Son of the Eternal Father, the one by whom he created all things, and by whom they do consist; that he took on him the nature of the seed of Abraham for the redemption of our fallen race; that he dwelt among men, full of grace and truth, lived our example, died our sacrifice, was raised for our justification, ascended on high to be our only mediator in the sanctuary in heaven, where, through the merits of his shed blood, he secures the pardon and forgiveness of the sins of all those who penitently come to him; and as the closing portion of his work as priest, before he takes his throne as king, he will make the great atonement for the sins of all such, and their sins will then be blotted out (Acts 3：19) and borne away from the sanctuary, as shown in the service of the Levitical priesthood, which foreshadowed and prefigured the ministry of our Lord in heaven. See Lev. 16; Heb. 8：4, 5; 9：6, 7; 2; etc. 二、有一位主——耶稣基督，永恒之父的儿子，父藉着祂创造了万物，万有也靠祂而立； 祂取了亚伯拉罕后裔的本性，以救赎我们堕落的人类； 祂住在人间，满有恩典和真理，一生为我们的榜样，为我们牺牲，为叫我们称义而被复活，升到高处，成为我们在天上圣所的唯一中保，在那里，藉着祂流血的功劳， 祂使所有悔改归向祂的人的罪孽得到赦免和宽恕； 作为祂作祭司工作的结束部分，在祂作王登上宝座前，祂将为他们的罪孽行大赎罪，他们的罪将被涂抹（徒 3：19）并从圣所除去，如那预示和代表了我们的主在天上事工的利未祭司的职任所示。见利 16; 希 8：4，5; 9：6，7; 等。 III – That the Holy Scriptures of the Old and New Testaments were given by inspiration of God, contain a full revelation of his will to man, and are the only infallible rule of faith and practice. 三、旧约和新约圣经，都是上帝所默示的，其中包含上帝向人类对祂旨意的全部启示。圣经是信仰和实践的唯一无误准绳。 IV – That baptism is an ordinance of the Christian church, to follow faith and repentance, —an ordinance by which we commemorate the resurrection of Christ, as by this act we show our faith in his burial and resurrection, and through that, in the resurrection of all the saints at the last day; and that no other mode more fitly represents these facts than that which the Scriptures prescribe, namely, immersion. Rom. 6：3-5; Col. 2：12. 四，洗礼是基督教会的礼节，遵循信心和悔改，——是我们纪念基督复活的一个礼节，因为藉着这一行为，我们表明我们对祂的埋葬和复活的信心，也藉此，对所有圣徒在末日的复活存有信心；并且没有其他方式比圣经所规定的方式更恰当地代表这些事实，即全身受浸。罗 6：3-5；西 2：12。 V – That the new birth comprises the entire change necessary to fit us for the kingdom of God, and consists of two parts; First, a moral change wrought by conversion and a Christian life (John 3：3,5); second, a physical change at the second coming of Christ, whereby, if dead, we are raised incorruptible, and if living, are changed to immortality in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye. Luke 20：36; 1 Cor. 15：51,52. 五，重生包括使我们进入上帝的国度所需要的全部改变，其中包含两个部分；首先，悔改归主和基督化生活所带来的道德改变（约 3：3，5）；第二，基督复临时身体的变化，如果我们死了，我们就复活成为不朽坏的，如果我们活着，就在一霎时，眨眼之间变成不死的。路 20：36；林前 15：51，52。 VI – That prophecy is a part of God’s revelation to man; that it is included in that Scripture which is profitable for instruction (2 Tim. 3：16); that it is designed for us and our children (Deut. 29：29); that so far from being enshrouded in impenetrable mystery, it is that which especially constitutes the word of God a lamp to our feet and a light to our path (Ps. 119：105; 2 Peter 1：19); that a blessing is pronounced upon those who study it (Rev. 1：1-3); and that, consequently, it is to be understood by the people of God sufficiently to show them their position in the world’s history and the special duties required at their hands. 六，预言是上帝对人的一部分启示；它包含在对教导人有益的圣经中（提后 3：16）；它是给我们和我们的子孙的（申 29：29）；远非笼罩在难以测透的奥秘之中，它特别构成上帝的圣言，作我们脚前的灯和路上的光（诗 119：105；彼后 1：19）；凡研究它的必得祝福（启 1：1-3）；因此，上帝的子民应该充分理解它，以向他们表明他们在世界历史中所处的位置以及他们手中特殊的责任。 VII – That the world’s history from specified dates in the past, the rise and fall of empires, and the chronological succession of events down to the setting up of God’s everlasting kingdom, are outlined in numerous great chains of prophecy; and that these prophecies are now all fulfilled except the closing scenes. 七，从过去的特定日期开始的世界历史，帝国的兴衰，以及按时间顺序发生的事件，一直到上帝永恒国度的建立，都在无数伟大的预言链中概述；除了最后的几幕场景外，这些预言都已经应验了。 VIII – That the doctrine of the world’s conversion and a temporal millennium is a fable of these last days, calculated to lull men into a state of carnal security, and cause them to be overtaken by the great day of the Lord as by a thief in the night (1 Thess. 5：3); that the second coming of Christ is to precede, not follow, the millennium; for until the Lord appears, the papal power, with all its abominations, is to continue (2 Thess. 2：8), the wheat and tares grow together (Matt. 13：29,30,39), and evil men and seducers wax worse and worse, as the word of God declares. 2 Tim. 3：1,13. 八，普世悔改和属世的千禧年之道理是末时的虚谎，旨在使人们陷入肉体的安逸之中，并使主的大日临到他们，像夜间的贼一样（帖前 5：3）；基督的复临是在千禧年之前，而不是之后；因为直到主显现之前，罗马天主教皇势力及其一切可憎之物将继续存在（帖后 2：8），麦子和稗子一起生长（太 13：29，30，39），作恶的和迷惑人的，必越久越恶，正如上帝的话语所宣告的（提后 3：1，13）。 IX – That the mistake of Adventists in 1844 pertained to the nature of the event then to transpire, not to the time; that no prophetic period is given to reach to the second advent, but that the longest one, the two thousand and three hundred days of Dan. 8：14, terminated in 1844, and brought us to an event called the cleansing of the sanctuary. 九，1844年复临信徒的错误只攸关当时要发生的事件的性质，而与事件发生的时间无关 ；即没有预言时期是为计算第二次降临而给予的，但最长的一个预言时期，即 但 8：14 中的二千三百日，已于1844年结束，并为我们指向一个称为洁净圣所的事件。 X – That the sanctuary of the new covenant is the tabernacle of God in heaven, of which Paul speaks in Hebrews 8 and onward, and of which our Lord, as great high priest, is minister; that this sanctuary is the antitype of the Mosaic tabernacle, and that the priestly work of our Lord, connected therewith, is the antitype of the work of the Jewish priests of the former dispensation (Heb. 8：1-5, etc.); that this, and not the earth, is the sanctuary to be cleansed at the end of the two thousand and three hundred days, what is termed its cleansing being in this case, as in the type, simply the entrance of the high priest into the most holy place, to finish the round of service connected therewith, by making the atonement and removing from the sanctuary the sins which had been transferred to it by means of the ministration in the first apartment (Lev. 16; Heb. 9：22,23); and that this work in the antitype, beginning in 1844, consists in actually blotting out the sins of believers (Acts 3：19), and occupies a brief but indefinite space of time, at the conclusion of which the work of mercy for the world will be finished, and the second advent of Christ will take place. 十，新约的圣所就是上帝在天上的帐幕，保罗在希伯来书第8章及之后的章节中谈到了这一点，即是我们的主作为大祭司供职的地方；这个圣所是摩西帐幕所预表的实体，而与此相关的，我们的主作祭司的工作则是前一个时代犹太祭司工作的实体（来 8：1-5 等）；这个天上圣所，而不是地球，是在二千三百日结束时要被洁净的，在这种情况下，所谓的洁净，正如在预表中一样，只是大祭司进入至圣所，完成与此相关的圣职，藉着进行赎罪的工作并从圣所中除去通过在第一层圣所的供职转移到至圣所的罪孽（利 16; 来 9：22，23）；这项工作的实体始于 1844 年，在于涂抹信徒的罪（徒 3：19），并且占据了短暂但不确定的时期，在其结束时，对世界进行的怜悯之工作就会结束，届时基督将会第二次降临。 XI – That God’s moral requirements are the same upon all men in all dispensations; that these are summarily contained in the commandments spoken by Jehovah from Sinai, engraven on the tables of stone, and deposited in the ark, which was in consequence called the “ark of the covenant,” or testament (Num. 10：33; Heb. 9：4, etc.); that this law is immutable and perpetual, being a transcript of the tables deposited in the ark in the true sanctuary on high, which is also, for the same reason, called the ark of God’s testament; for under the sounding of the seventh trumpet we are told that “the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in his temple the ark of his testament.” Rev. 11：19. 十一，上帝的道德要求在每一个时代对所有人都是相同的； 这些都已概括地包含在耶和华在西奈山上颁布的诫命中，刻在石版上，并存放在柜中，因此这柜被称为“约柜”，或法柜（民 10：33；来 9：4等）； 这律法是不可变更和永远长存的，是存放在天上真正圣所的约柜中之石版的副本，出于同样的原因，约柜也被称为上帝的法柜； 因为在第七号吹响时，我们得知“上帝天上的殿开了，在祂殿中现出祂的约柜”。 启 11：19。 XII – That the fourth commandment of this law requires that we devote the seventh day of each week, commonly called Saturday, to abstinence from our own labor, and to the performance of sacred and religious duties; that this is the only weekly Sabbath known to the Bible, being the day that was set apart before Paradise was lost (Gen. 2：2,3), and which will be observed in Paradise restored (Isa. 66：22,23); that the facts upon which the Sabbath institution is based confine it to the seventh day, as they are not true of any other day; and that the terms Jewish Sabbath, as applied to the seventh day, and Christian Sabbath, as applied to the first day of the week, are names of human invention, unscriptural in fact, and false in meaning. 十二，该律法的第四条诫命要求我们在每周的第七日（普遍称为星期六）禁戒我们自己的工作，并履行神圣和宗教的职责； 这是圣经中唯一指明的每周的安息日，是在失去乐园之前所分别的日子（创 2：2,3），也是在恢复乐园后将继续遵守的一日（赛 66：22,23）； 这些安息日制度所依据的事实将其限制在第七日，因为它们并不适用于任何其他日子；犹太人的安息日（应用于第七日）和基督教的安息日（应用于一周的第一日）这些术语都是人类发明的名称，事实上不符合圣经，而且含义错误。 XIII – That as the man of sin, the papacy, has thought to change times and laws (the law of God, Dan. 7：25), and has misled almost all Christendom in regard to the fourth commandment, we find a prophecy of a reform in this respect to be wrought among believers just before the coming of Christ. Isa. 56：1,2; 1 Peter 1：5; Rev. 14：12, etc. 十三，作为大罪人，罗马教皇必想改变节期和律法（上帝的律法，但 7：25），并且在第四条诫命上误导了几乎整个基督教界，我们发现了一个与此相关的预言，论到在基督复临之前，这方面的改革将在信徒中进行。 赛 56：1，2； 彼前 1：5； 启 14：12等。 XIV – That the followers of Christ should be a peculiar people, not following the maxims, nor conforming to the ways, of the world; not loving its pleasures nor countenancing its follies; inasmuch as the apostle says that “whosoever therefore will be” in this sense, “a friend of the world, is the enemy of God” (James 4：4); and Christ says that we cannot have two masters, or, at the same time, serve God and mammon. Matt. 6：24. 十四，基督的跟随者应该是一群独特的子民，不追随世界的规律，也不效法世界的做法；不喜爱其欢乐，也不纵容其愚行； 正如使徒所说：“所以凡想要与世俗为友的，就是与上帝为敌了。”（雅 4：4）； 基督说我们不能有两个主，或者同时又侍奉上帝，又侍奉玛门。 太 6：24。 XV – That the Scriptures insist upon plainness and modesty of attire as a prominent mark of discipleship in those who profess to be the followers of Him who was, “meek and lowly in heart,” that the wearing of gold, pearls, and costly array, or anything designed merely to adorn the person and foster the pride of the natural heart, is to be discarded, according to such scriptures as 1 Tim. 2：9,10; 1 Peter 3：3,4. 十五，圣经坚决提倡，对于凡宣称自己是那“心里柔和谦卑”之主的门徒来说，着装朴素和端庄是门徒身份的显着标志，根据提前 2：9，10； 彼前 3：3，4等经文，以黄金、珍珠和贵价的衣裳为妆饰，或任何仅仅为了装饰个人和培养本性的骄傲而设计的东西，都应该弃绝。 XVI – That means for the support of evangelical work among men should be contributed from love to God and love of souls, not raised by church lotteries, or occasions designed to contribute to the fun-loving, appetite-indulging propensities of the sinner, such as fairs, festivals, oyster suppers, tea, broom, donkey, and crazy socials, etc., which are a disgrace to the professed church of Christ; that the proportion of one’s income required in former dispensation can be no less under the gospel; that it is the same as Abraham (whose children we are, if we are Christ’s, Gal. 3：29) paid to Melchisedec (type of Christ) when he gave him a tenth of all (Heb. 7：1-4); the tithe is the Lord’s (Lev. 27：30); and this tenth of one’s income is also to be supplemented by offerings from those who are able, for the support of the gospel. 2 Cor. 9：6; Mal. 3：8,10. 十六，支持福音工作的收入来源应该出自人们对上帝的爱和对世人的爱，而不是透过教会彩票或旨在促进罪人爱宴乐、放纵食欲的活动来筹集。例如集市 、节庆、牡蛎晚餐、茶会、扫帚、驴和疯狂的社交活动等等，这些都是自称是基督的教会的耻辱；从前的体制对人们收入所要求的比例，在福音时代也不能少。；亚伯拉罕也是如此（我们既属乎基督，就是亚伯拉罕的后裔，加 3：29），他把将自己所得来的，取十分之一给麦基洗德（基督的预表）（来 7：1-4）； 因为十分之一是属于耶和华的（利 27：30）；除了人们收入的十分一之外，有能力的人也需以额外的捐献来补足，以支持福音的工作。 林后 9：6； 玛 3：8,10。 XVII – That as the natural or carnal heart is at enmity with God and his law, this enmity can be subdued only by a radical transformation of the affections, the exchange of unholy for holy principles; that this transformation follows repentance and faith, is the special work of the Holy Spirit, and constitutes regeneration, or conversion. 十七，由于顺性或属肉体的心是与上帝和祂的律法为敌的，这种敌意唯有藉着将不圣洁的原则换成圣洁的原则，达到情感上的彻底转变才能克服、这种转变伴随着悔改和信心，是圣灵的特殊工作，并构成了重生，或悔改归主。 XVIII – That as all have violated the law of God, and cannot of themselves render obedience to his just requirements, we are dependent on Christ, first, for justification from our past offenses, and, secondly, for grace whereby to render acceptable obedience to his holy law in time to come. 十八，由于所有人都违背了上帝的律法，并且不能靠自己顺从祂公正的要求，因此我们要依靠基督，首先，使我们从过去的过犯中称义，其次，靠着恩典，使我们在将来能够对他神圣的律法献上可蒙悦纳的顺从。 XIX – That the Spirit of God was promised to manifest itself in the church through certain gifts, enumerated especially in 1 Cor. 12 and Eph. 4; that these gifts are not designed to supersede, or take the place of, the Bible, which is sufficient to make us wise unto salvation, any more than the Bible can take the place of the Holy Spirit; that, in specifying the various channels of its operation, that Spirit has simply made provision for its own existence and presence with the people of God to the end of time, to lead to an understanding of that word which it had inspired, to convince of sin, and to work a transformation in the heart and life; and that those who deny to the Spirit its place and operation, do plainly deny that part of the Bible which assigns to it this work and position. 十九，上帝应许祂的灵要藉着某些恩赐在教会中显现它自己，特别是在 林前 12 和 弗 4 中所列举的；因为圣经本身就足以使我们有得救的智慧，所以这些恩赐并不是为了取代或代替圣经，就正如圣经无法取代圣灵一样；藉着不同的运作方式 ，圣灵会显现它自己并与上帝的子民同在，引导人们理解它所默示的话语，使人们知罪， 并在内心和生活中做出改变 ，一直到世界的末了；那些否认圣灵的地位和工作的人，显然否认了圣经中指定圣灵的工作和地位的部分。 XX – That God, in accordance with his uniform dealings with the race, sends forth a proclamation of the approach of the second advent of Christ; and that this work is symbolized by the three messages of Revelation 14, the last one bringing to view the work of reform on the law of God, that his people may acquire a complete readiness for that event. 二十，上帝按照祂统一对待世人的原则，宣告基督第二次降临的临近；这项工作是启示录第14章的三重信息所代表的，该信息也是最后一个揭示基于上帝律法的改革工作的信息，使祂的子民可以为这事件做好充分的准备。 XXI – That the time of the cleansing of the sanctuary (See proposition X.), synchronizing with the time of the proclamation of the third message (Rev. 14：9,10), is a time of investigative judgment, first, with reference to the dead, and secondly, at the close of probation, with reference to the living, to determine who of the myriads now sleeping in the dust of the earth are worthy of a part in the first resurrection, and who of its living multitudes are worthy of translation, – points which must be determined before the Lord appears. 二十一，洁净圣所的时期（参阅第十条），与宣告第三天使信息的时期同步（启 14：9，10），是一个查案审判的时期。首先，审判已经死了的人，然后，审判在恩典时期结束时活着的人，以决定现在沉睡在地球尘埃中的无数人中，谁配得在第一次的复活中有份，以及在活着的群众中，谁配得被接升天，——在主降临之前必须确定的几个要点。 XXII – That the grave, whether we all tend, expressed by the Hebrew word sheol and the Greek word hades, is a place, or condition, in which there is no work, device, wisdom, nor knowledge. Eccl. 9：10. 二十二，用希伯来文“sheol”和希腊文“hades”来表达的“阴间”一词，无论我们愿意与否，都是指一个“没有工作、谋略、智慧或知识”的地方或状态。 传 9：10。 XXIII – That the state to which we are reduced by death is one of silence, inactivity, and entire unconsciousness. Ps. 146：4; Eccl. 9：5,6; Dan. 12：2. 二十三，死亡使我们陷入一种沉默、无活动和完全无意识的状态。诗 146：4； 传9：5，6； 但 12：2。 XXIV – That out of this prison-house of the grave, mankind are to be brought by a bodily resurrection; the righteous having part in the first resurrection, which takes place at the second coming of Christ; the wicked, in the second resurrection, which takes place in a thousand years thereafter. Rev. 20：4-6. 二十四，人类将透过身体的复活从这个监狱般的坟墓中被释放出来； 义人在基督复临时的第一次复活里有份； 而恶人则在一千年之后的第二次复活里有份。 启 20：4-6。 XXV – That at the last trump, the living righteous are to be changed in a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, and with the risen righteous are to be caught up to meet the Lord in the air, so forever to be with the Lord. 1 Thess. 4：16,17; 1 Cor. 15：51,52. 二十五，在号筒末次吹响时，活着的义人将在一霎时、眨眼之间被改变，并与复活的义人一同被提到空中与主相遇，从此与主永远同在。 帖前 4：16，17； 林前 15：51，52。 XXVI – That these immortalized ones are then taken to heaven, to the New Jerusalem, the Father’s house, in which there are many mansions (John 14：1-3), where they reign with Christ a thousand years, judging the world and fallen angels, that is, apportioning the punishment to be executed upon them at the close of the one thousand years (Rev. 20：4; 1 Cor. 6：2,3); that during this time the earth lies in a desolate and chaotic condition (Jer. 4：23-27), described, as in the beginning, by the Greek term abussos—“bottom- less pit” (Septuagint of Gen. 1：2); and that here Satan is confined during the thousand years (Rev. 20：1,2), and here finally destroyed (Rev. 20：10; Mal. 4：1); the theater of the ruin he has wrought in the universe being appropriately made, for a time, his gloomy prison-house, and then the place of his final execution. 二十六，然后，这些不朽坏的人被带到天国的新耶路撒冷，天父的家，那里有许多住处（约14：1-3），他们在那里与基督一同作王一千年，审判世界和堕落的天使，分配在一千年结束时要对他们执行的惩罚（启 20：4；林前 6：2，3）； 在此期间，地球处于荒凉和混乱的状态（耶 4：23-27），这就正如地球起初的状态那样，是用希腊术语“abussos”——“无底坑”来描述的（七十士译本中的创 1：2）； 撒旦将在这里被困一千年（启 20：1，2），并在这里最终被毁灭（启 20：10；玛 4：1）；这个因他的原故而成了宇宙中的一个废墟的剧场，正好适合暂时当他的阴暗监狱，和他最后被处刑的地方。 XXVII – That at the end of the thousand years the Lord descends with his people and the New Jerusalem (Rev. 21：2), the wicked dead are raised, and come up on the surface of the yet unrenewed earth, and gather about the city, the camp of the saints (Rev. 20：9), and fire comes down from God out of heaven and devours them. They are then consumed, root and branch (Mal. 4：1), becoming as though they had not been. Obad. 15,16. In this everlasting destruction from the presence of the Lord (2 Thess. 1：9), the wicked meet the “everlasting punishment” threatened against them (Matt. 25：46), which is everlasting death. Rom. 6：23; Rev. 20：14,15. This is the perdition of ungodly men, the fire which consumes them being the fire for which “the heavens and the earth, which are now,. . . are kept in store,” which shall melt even the elements with its intensity, and purge the earth from the deepest stains of the curse of sin. 2 Peter 3：7-12. 二十七，一千年结束时，主与祂的子民和新耶路撒冷一起降临（启 21：2），死了的恶人要复活，来到尚未更新的地表上，聚集在圣城周围， 即圣徒的营（启 20：9），有火由上帝那里从天降下并吞噬了他们。 然后，他们的根本和枝条都会被烧尽（玛 4：1），他们就归于无有。 （俄 1：15，16）。 他们要受永远灭亡的刑罚，离开主的面（帖后 1：9），恶人要面临向他们宣布的“永刑”（太 25：46），即永远的死亡。 罗 6：23； 启 20：14,15。 这就是不敬虔之人的灭亡，那烧灭他们的火，虽然“现在的诸天与地还是…存留” ，但到时候，连各种元素也要熔化，又要清除一切由罪孽的咒诅在地球上造成之最深的污迹。彼后 3：7-12。 XXVIII – That new heavens and a new earth shall spring by the power of God from the ashes of the old, and this renewed earth, with the New Jerusalem for its metropolis and capital, shall be the eternal inheritance of the saints, the place where the righteous shall evermore dwell. 2 Peter 3：13; Ps. 37：11,29; Matt 5：5. 二十八，新天新地将藉着上帝的大能从旧世界的灰烬中诞生，而这个更新的地球，以新耶路撒冷为大都市和首都，将成为圣徒永恒的产业，并义人永远居住的地方。彼后 3：13； 诗 37：11，29; 太 5：5。 1889 Yea r Book 1889 - Revised Statements of Belief

All trinity studies Previous Download 看中文 Next Unmasked Bible Study Bible Study Lesson 1 IS IT IMPORTANT, AND CAN WE KNOW? 1. Is God pleased when His people do not know Him? Hosea 4:1 “Hear the word of the LORD, ye children of Israel: for the LORD hath a controversy with the inhabitants of the land, because there is no truth, nor mercy, nor knowledge of God in the land.” (Controversy: strife, dispute, quarrel, something against) 2. What is the whole duty of man?Ecclesiastes 12:13 “Let us hear the conclusion of the whole matter: Fear God, and keep his commandments: for this is the whole duty of man.” 3. What does it mean to “fear God?”The Bible writers, often used a style of writing called parallelism where they would write a thought and then repeated it using different words, yet implying the same meaning. Proverbs 1:7 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of knowledge: but fools despise wisdom and instruction.” Proverbs 9:10 “The fear of the LORD is the beginning of wisdom: and the knowledge of the holy is understanding. Proverbs 2:5 “Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” “fear of the Lord” = “knowledge of God” 4. What is the first message that we are to give in the last days? Revelation 14:7 “Saying with a loud voice, Fear God, and give glory to him; for the hour of his judgment is come: and worship him that made heaven, and earth, and the sea, and the fountains of waters.” (A part of the first angels message is to bring back the knowledge of God to the people.) 5. Is it important to know God? Hosea 4:6 “My people are destroyed for lack of knowledge: because thou hast rejected knowledge, I will also reject thee, that thou shalt be no priest to me: seeing thou hast forgotten the law of thy God, I will also forget thy children.” Hosea 6:6 “For I desired mercy, and not sacrifice; and the knowledge of God more than burnt offerings.” 6. Why is knowing God so important? John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” 2 Peter 1:2 “Grace and peace be multiplied unto you through the knowledge of God, and of Jesus our Lord...” 7. What does knowing God involve? a. Know who God is 2 Timothy 1:12 “For the which cause I also suffer these things: nevertheless I am not ashamed: for I know whom I have believed, and am persuaded that he is able to keep that which I have committed unto him against that day.” (Paul knew who God is, that is why he was able to declare Him to those who worshiped Him ignorantly: Act 17:23) b. Know His ways/glory/character Exodus 33:13 “Now therefore, I pray thee, if I have found grace in thy sight, shew me now thy way, that I may know thee, that I may find grace in thy sight: and consider that this nation is thy people.” Exodus 33:18 “And he said, I beseech thee, shew me thy glory.” (ways = glory) Exodus 34:6,7 “And the LORD passed by before him, and pro-claimed, The LORD, The LORD God, merciful and gracious, long-suffering, and abundant in goodness and truth, Keeping mercy for thousands, forgiving iniquity and transgression and sin, and that will by no means clear the guilty; visiting the iniquity of the fathers upon the children, and upon the children’s children, unto the third and to the fourth generation.” (God’s character is here displayed as his glory.) 1 John 4:7-9 “Beloved, let us love one another: for love is of God; and every one that loveth is born of God, and knoweth God. He that loveth not knoweth not God; for God is love. In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” (know God = love God and man, because God is love) c. Keep His commandments Titus 1:16 “They profess that they know God; but in works they deny him, being abominable, and disobedient, and unto every good work reprobate.” (Knowing God leads to obeying Him. Doctrine is not the end; it is the means to know God better, to get closer to Him. ) 8. What must I do to know God intimately? Proverbs 2:3-5 “Yea, if thou criest after knowledge, and liftest up thy voice for understanding. If thou seekest her as silver, and searchest for her as for hid treasures; Then shalt thou understand the fear of the LORD, and find the knowledge of God.” 9. Can we know who God is? Has God revealed Himself to us in His Word? Romans 1:20 “For the invisible things of him from the creation of the world are clearly seen, being understood by the things that are made, even his eternal power and Godhead; so that they are without excuse ...” 1 John 5:20 “And we know that the Son of God is come, and hath given us an understanding, that we may know him that is true, and we are in him that is true, even in his Son Jesus Christ. This is the true God, and eternal life.” 10. What is the only thing we can glory in? Jeremiah 9:23,24 “Thus saith the LORD, Let not the wise man glory in his wisdom, neither let the mighty man glory in his might, let not the rich man glory in his riches: But let him that glorieth glory in this, that he understandeth and knoweth me, that I am the LORD which exercise lovingkindness, judgment, and righteousness, in the earth: for in these things I delight, saith the LORD.” Bible Study Lesson 2 WHO IS THE GOD OF THE BIBLE? 1. According to the Old Testament, how many Gods are there? Deuteronomy 6:4 “Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD...” Deuteronomy 4:35 “Unto thee it was shewed, that thou mightest know that the LORD he is God; there is none else beside him.” Jeremiah 10:10 “But the LORD is the true God, he is the living God, and an everlasting king: at his wrath the earth shall tremble, and the nations shall not be able to abide his indignation.” (see Question 6) 2. According to the New Testament, how many Gods are there? 1 Corinthians 8:4 “As concerning therefore the eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols, we know that an idol is nothing in the world, and that there is none other God but one.” Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 1Timothy 2:5 “For there is one God, and one mediator between God and men, the man Christ Jesus;...” James 2:19 “Thou believest that there is one God; thou doest well: the devils also believe, and tremble.” 3. Who is the most qualified person to tell us about the true God? John 1:18 “No man hath seen God at any time; the only begotten Son, which is in the bosom of the Father, he hath declared him.” John 3:11 “Verily, verily, I say unto thee, We speak that we do know, and testify that we have seen; and ye receive not our witness.” 4. According to Jesus— a. Who is “the only true God”? John 17:3 “And this is life eternal, that they might know thee the only true God, and Jesus Christ, whom thou hast sent.” b. Whom did Jesus say we should pray to? Matthew 6:9-13 “After this manner therefore pray ye: Our Father which art in heaven, Hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. Thy will be done in earth, as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread. And forgive us our debts, as we forgive our debtors. And lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil: For thine is the kingdom, and the power, and the glory, for ever. Amen.” c. Which is the first commandment of all? Mark 12:28-32 “And one of the scribes came, and having heard them reasoning together, and perceiving that he had answered them well, asked him, Which is the first commandment of all? And Jesus answered him, The first of all the commandments is, Hear, O Israel; The Lord our God is one Lord: And thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy mind, and with all thy strength: this is the first commandment. And the second is like, namely this, Thou shalt love thy neighbour as thyself. There is none other commandment greater than these. And the scribe said unto him, Well, Master, thou hast said the truth: for there is one God; and there is none other but he:” Knowing God is required before we can love Him. A correct knowledge of God is vital for our relationship with Him. The scribe agreed that there is only one God, and none other but He. d. Did Jesus correct the scribe? Mark 12:34 “And when Jesus saw that he answered discreetly, he said unto him, Thou art not far from the kingdom of God. And no man after that durst ask him any question.” (The belief of the scribe reflected the faith of the entire Jewish nation. The Jews believed in one God only.) John 8:41 “Ye do the deeds of your father. Then said they to him, We be not born of fornication; we have one Father, even God.” e. Who is the God of the Jews? John 8:54 “Jesus answered, If I honour myself, my honour is nothing: it is my Father that honoureth me; of whom ye say, that he is your God: ...” (see Romans 3:29) f. Who will the true worshippers worship? John 4:21-23 “Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him.” 5. According to the apostles, who is the one God? 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God, the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” James 3:9 “Therewith bless we God, even the Father; and therewith curse we men, which are made after the similitude of God.” Romans 15:6 “That ye may with one mind and one mouth glorify God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.” Ephesians 4:6 “One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 2 Corinthians 1:3 “Blessed be God, even the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, the Father of mercies, and the God of all comfort;...” 6. Who is the living and true God? 1 Thessalonians 1:9, 10 “For they themselves shew of us what manner of entering in we had unto you, and how ye turned to God from idols to serve the living and true God; And to wait for his Son from heaven, whom he raised from the dead, even Jesus, which delivered us from the wrath to come.” Bible Study Lesson 3 THE SOVEREIGNTY OF GOD THE FATHER What does the Bible have to say about the sovereignty of the Father? Here are some facts about God the Father that will shed some light on this topic. The Father is the ultimate Source of all things. 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” 2 Corinthians 5:18 “And all things are of God, who hath reconciled us to himself by Jesus Christ, and hath given to us the ministry of reconciliation;...” Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” Ephesians 3:14,15 “For this cause I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, Of whom the whole family in heaven and earth is named,...” 2. The Father is the God of Christ. a. During the Incarnation Matthew 27:46 “And about the ninth hour Jesus cried with a loud voice, saying, Eli, Eli, lama sabachthani? that is to say, My God, my God, why hast thou forsaken me?” b. After His Resurrection John 20:17 “Jesus saith unto her, Touch me not; for I am not yet ascended to my Father: but go to my brethren, and say unto them, I ascend unto my Father, and your Father; and to my God, and your God.” Ephesians 1:3 “Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: …” Revelation 3:12 “Him that overcometh will I make a pillar in the temple of my God, and he shall go no more out: and I will write upon him the name of my God, and the name of the city of my God, which is new Jerusalem, which cometh down out of heaven from my God: and I will write upon him my new name.” (see Hebrews 1:9, 1 Peter 1:3) 3. The Father is exclusively called the Most High … Compare the following two verses: Psalms 78:17 “And they sinned yet more against him by provoking the most High in the wilderness.” Isaiah 63:8-10 “For he said, Surely they are my people, children that will not lie: so he was their Saviour. In all their affliction he was afflicted, and the angel of his presence saved them: in his love and in his pity he redeemed them; and he bare them, and carried them all the days of old. But they rebelled, and vexed his holy Spirit: therefore he was turned to be their enemy, and he fought against them.” God the Father is the subject of these verses. Two Beings are mentioned, God the Father (who is called “their Saviour”) and Christ (who is called “the angel of his presence”). … While Jesus is called the “Son of the Most High.” Mark 5:7 “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.” Luke 8:28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee,torment me not.” The above verses clearly distinguish between the Father and the Son. The Father is called “the Most High,” while Jesus is called the “Son of the most high God.” 4. The Father is older than Jesus. John 14:28 “Ye have heard how I said unto you, I go away, and come again unto you. If ye loved me, ye would rejoice, because I said, I go unto the Father: for my Father is greater than I.” The word “greater” in the above text comes from (G3187 “μείζων” meizon) which can mean “older” as translated in Romans 9:12, “It was said unto her, the elder shall serve the younger.” 5. The Father is greater than all. John 10:29 “My Father, which gave them me, is greater than all; and no man is able to pluck them out of my Father’s hand.” 6. The Father is the head of Christ. 1 Corinthians 11:3 “But I would have you know, that the head of every man is Christ; and the head of the woman is the man; and the head of Christ is God.” 7. The Father is above all. Ephesians 4:4-6 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling; One Lord, one faith, one baptism, One God and Father of all, who is above all, and through all, and in you all.” 8. The Father is the Lord of heaven and earth. Matthew 11:25 “At that time Jesus answered and said, I thank thee, O Father, Lord of heaven and earth, because thou hast hid these things from the wise and prudent, and hast revealed them unto babes.” (See Luke 10:21) Not only that, but the Bible also reveals to us some things which Jesus received from His Father which sheds a bit more light on the sovereignty of God the Father. 9. What did Jesus receive from His Father? a. His life John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself;...” b. His power and authority Matthew 28:18 “And Jesus came and spake unto them, saying, All power is given unto me in heaven and in earth.” (see Matthew 11:27; John 5:22-27; 17:2) c. His kingdom Daniel 7:14 “And there was given him dominion, and glory, and a kingdom, that all people, nations, and languages, should serve him: his dominion is an everlasting dominion, which shall not pass away, and his kingdom that which shall not be destroyed.” Luke 1:32 “He shall be great, and shall be called the Son of the Highest: and the Lord God shall give unto him the throne of his father David: ...” (see also 1 Corinthians 15:24-28; Ephesians 1:22) d. His right to receive worship John 5:22-23 “For the Father judgeth no man, but hath committed all judgment unto the Son: That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” (see Acts 2:36; Philippians 2:9-10; Hebrews 1:6) e. His name Philippians 2:9-10 “Wherefore God also hath highly exalted him, and given him a name which is above every name: That at the name of Jesus every knee should bow, of things in heaven, and things in earth, and things under the earth;...” Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” f. All things John 3:35 “The Father loveth the Son, and hath given all things into his hand. John 13:3 “Jesus knowing that the Father had given all things into his hands, and that he was come from God, and went to God; ...” (see Hebrews 1:2) The above verses are ample evidence to prove to us the sovereignty of God the Father. But, by this, we do not diminish the position, value or divinity of Jesus, the Son of God. (For further information on the equality of the Father and the Son, please refer to Lesson 5.) Bible Study Lesson 4 WHO IS JESUS? 1. Who did Jesus claim to be? John 10:36 “Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” 2. What did God the Father say regarding the identity of Jesus? Matthew 3:16, 17 “And Jesus, when he was baptized, went up straightway out of the water: and, lo, the heavens were opened unto him, and he saw the Spirit of God descending like a dove, and lighting upon him: And lo a voice from heaven, saying, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased.” Matthew 17:5 “While he yet spake, behold, a bright cloud overshadowed them: and behold a voice out of the cloud, which said, This is my beloved Son, in whom I am well pleased; hear ye him.” 3. Who did the disciples understand Jesus to be? Matthew 16:15, 16 “He saith unto them, But whom say ye that I am? And Simon Peter answered and said, Thou art the Christ, the Son of the living God.” John 11:27 “She saith unto him, Yea, Lord: I believe that thou art the Christ, the Son of God, which should come into the world.” Matthew 14:33 “Then they that were in the ship came and worshipped him, saying, Of a truth thou art the Son of God.” Acts 9:20 “And straightway he preached Christ in the synagogues, that he is the Son of God.” 4. Did the fallen angels know that Jesus was the Son of God? Luke 4:3 “And the devil said unto him, If thou be the Son of God, command this stone that it be made bread.” Luke 8:28 “When he saw Jesus, he cried out, and fell down before him, and with a loud voice said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of God most high? I beseech thee, torment me not.” Mark 5:7 “And cried with a loud voice, and said, What have I to do with thee, Jesus, thou Son of the most high God? I adjure thee by God, that thou torment me not.”Satan and the fallen angels knew before their fall that Jesus was the Son of God, hence Satan’s challenge in the wilderness and the demon’s confession. 5. Who else is referred to as the “son of God” in the Scriptures? Luke 3:38 “Which was the son of Enos, which was the son of Seth, which was the son of Adam, which was the son of God.” Adam was the son of God by creation (Genesis 5:1), as also were the angels ( Job 38:7). 1 John 3:1 “Behold, what manner of love the Father hath bestowed upon us, that we should be called the sons of God: therefore the world knoweth us not, because it knew him not.” We are sons of God by adoption (Romans 8:15). 6. How is Christ the Son of God? 1 John 4:9 “In this was manifested the love of God toward us, because that God sent his only begotten Son into the world, that we might live through him.” Jesus is not a son by creation, as Adam was; nor a son by adoption, like us; but He is the only begotten Son; He is the Son because He was begotten of the Father. John 3:16 “For God so loved the world, that he gave his only begotten Son, that whosoever believeth in him should not perish, but have everlasting life.” God giving His only begotten Son indicates that God must have had a Son, before the Incarnation, to give. 7. When did Jesus become the Son of man? Galatians 4:4 “But when the fulness of the time was come, God sent forth his Son, made of a woman, made under the law.” Luke 1:31 “And, behold, thou shalt conceive in thy womb, and bring forth a son, and shalt call his name JESUS.” Jesus became the Son of man when He was brought forth of Mary; at the Incarnation. 8. When was Christ begotten of the Father? Micah 5:2 “But thou, Bethlehem Ephratah, though thou be little among the thousands of Judah, yet out of thee shall he come forth unto me that is to be ruler in Israel; whose goings forth have been from of old, from everlasting.” “Goings forth” also means “origin.” Jesus was brought forth in the days of antiquity, or from everlasting (margin: the days of eternity). 9. What happened in the days of eternity? Proverbs 8:22-30 “The LORD possessed me in the beginning of his way, before his works of old. I was set up from everlasting, from the beginning, or ever the earth was. When there were no depths, I was brought forth; when there were no fountains abounding with water. Before the mountains were settled, before the hills was I brought forth: While as yet he had not made the earth, nor the fields, nor the highest part of the dust of the world. When he prepared the heavens, I was there: when he set a compass upon the face of the depth: When he established the clouds above: when he strengthened the fountains of the deep: When he gave to the sea his decree, that the waters should not pass his commandment: when he appointed the foundations of the earth: Then I was by him, as one brought up with him: and I was daily his delight, rejoicing always before him.” In the above passage, speaking under the title of wisdom (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30; Colossians 2:3), Jesus points the reader to the duration, before the creation of anything, as the time when He was “brought forth” or “possessed” by the Father. 10. Was Jesus referred to as the ‘Son of God’ before Bethlehem? Proverbs 30:4 “Who hath ascended up into heaven, or descended? who hath gathered the wind in his fists? who hath bound the waters in a garment? who hath established all the ends of the earth? what is his name, and what is his son’s name, if thou canst tell?” Daniel 3:25 “He answered and said, Lo, I see four men loose, walking in the midst of the fire, and they have no hurt; and the form of the fourth is like the Son of God.” Psalms 2:12 “Kiss the Son, lest he be angry, and ye perish from the way, when his wrath is kindled but a little. Blessed are all they that put their trust in him.” 11. During the Incarnation, did Jesus teach that He came forth from the Father? John 8:42 “Jesus said unto them, If God were your Father, ye would love me: for I proceeded forth and came from God; neither came I of myself, but he sent me.” John 16:27 “For the Father himself loveth you, because ye have loved me, and have believed that I came out from God.” 12. Is it important for us to believe that Jesus is the real and literal Son of God? 1 John 2:22, 23 “Who is a liar but he that denieth that Jesus is the Christ? He is antichrist, that denieth the Father and the Son.Whosoever denieth the Son, the same hath not the Father: (but) he that acknowledgeth the Son hath the Father also.” 1 John 5:10, 11 “He that believeth on the Son of God hath the witness in himself: he that believeth not God hath made him a liar; because he believeth not the record that God gave of his Son.” John 3:36 “He that believeth on the Son hath everlasting life: and he that believeth not the Son shall not see life; but the wrath of God abideth on him.” John 20:31 “But these are written, that ye might believe that Jesus is the Christ, the Son of God; and that believing ye might have life through his name.” 13. Why did the Jews kill Christ? Matthew 26:63-65 “But Jesus held his peace. And the high priest answered and said unto him, I adjure thee by the living God, that thou tell us whether thou be the Christ, the Son of God. Jesus saith unto him, Thou hast said: nevertheless I say unto you, Hereafter shall ye see the Son of man sitting on the right hand of power, and coming in the clouds of heaven. Then the high priest rent his clothes, saying, He hath spoken blasphemy; what further need have we of witnesses? behold, now ye have heard his blasphemy.” John 19:7 “The Jews answered him, We have a law, and by our law he ought to die, because he made himself the Son of God.” Jesus preferred to die than to deny His true Sonship! How much more should we mere mortals confess the Sonship of Jesus? 14. What is promised to those who receive Jesus as the Son of God? John 1:12 “But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name.” Bible Study Lesson 5 EQUALITY OF THE FATHER AND THE SON We have established that Jesus is the Son of God because He was begotten/brought forth from the Father in the days of eternity. 1. Are the Father and the Son equal? Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” In this lesson we will search the Scriptures to see if God reveals to us the basis of this equality. Why are the Father and the Son equal? 2. What did Jesus inherit by virtue of His divine Birth? Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Exodus 23:20, 21 “Behold, I send an Angel before thee, to keep thee in the way, and to bring thee into the place which I have prepared. Beware of him, and obey his voice, provoke him not; for he will not pardon your transgressions: for my name is in him.” Jesus, as the Son of God, inherited His Father’s name. We also know that Jesus, who was the Angel that went before the Israelites, had the Father’s name back then. Hence, we conclude that Jesus inherited the Father’s name before Bethlehem, which means that Jesus’ Sonship predates the Incarnation. 3. What does “name” mean? Nature: ”Male and female created he them; and blessed them, and called their name Adam, in the day when they were created.” Genesis 5:2 Authority: “I am come in my Father’s name.” John 5:43 (see John 10:25; Matthew 21:23) Character: “A good name is rather to be chosen than great riches, and loving favour rather than silver and gold.” Proverbs 22:1 (see Ecclesiastes 7:1; Proverbs 15:30) By inheriting the Father’s name, Jesus inherited the Father’s God-nature or divine nature. 4. What does this fact make Christ? Hebrews 1:1-3 “God, who at sundry times and in divers manners spake in time past unto the fathers by the prophets, Hath in these last days spoken unto us by his Son, whom he hath appointed heir of all things, by whom also he made the worlds; Who being the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person, and upholding all things by the word of his power, when he had by himself purged our sins, sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high.” Christ is the express image of the Father. He has the same divine nature and life as His Father has. His sonship and inheritance qualified Jesus to be: a. Owner—“heir of all things”b. Creator—“by whom also he made the worlds”c. Image of and equal with God—“the brightness of his glory, and the express image of his person”d. Sustainer—“upholding all things”e. Saviour—“himself purged our sins”f. Mediator—“sat down on the right hand of the Majesty on high” Does the Bible reveal to us that Christ was the image of God before the Incarnation? Revelation 12:7 “And there was war in heaven: Michael and his angels fought against the dragon; and the dragon fought and his angels.” “Michael” means “one who is like God.” Again this confirms the fact that Jesus inherited this name in the days of eternity. 6. What else did Christ inherit? John 5:26 “For as the Father hath life in himself; so hath he given to the Son to have life in himself.” The very same life that the Father has, was given to His Son by inheritance. This is immortal, original life that the Son can give to those who believe ( John 17:2). 7. Does this make Jesus, a divine Being, worthy of our praise and worship? Hebrews 1:8, 6 “But unto the Son he saith, Thy throne, O God, is for ever and ever: a sceptre of righteousness is the sceptre of thy kingdom. And again, when he bringeth in the first begotten into the world, he saith, And let all the angels of God worship him.” Colossians 2:9; 1:19 “For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily. For it pleased the Father that in him should all fulness dwell.” The fullness of the Godhead, or divinity, dwells in the Son. He is fully divine because His Father is God. 8. Should we honor the Son as we honor the Father? John 5:23 “That all men should honour the Son, even as they honour the Father. He that honoureth not the Son honoureth not the Father which hath sent him.” We honor and worship the Son as much as the Father. They are both of the same divine nature. We pay supreme honor to God when we honor and reverence His Son (Philippians 2:11). 9. Did the Jews understand that Jesus claimed equality with the Father? John 5:18 “Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” 10. Why did the Jews want to stone Jesus? John 10:33-36 “The Jews answered him, saying, For a good work we stone thee not; but for blasphemy; and because that thou, being a man, makest thyself God. Jesus answered them, Is it not written in your law, I said, Ye are gods? If he called them gods, unto whom the word of God came, and the Scripture cannot be broken; Say ye of him, whom the Father hath sanctified, and sent into the world, Thou blasphemest; because I said, I am the Son of God?” By claiming to be the Son of God, the Jews understood Jesus to mean that He is equal with God. Jesus also understood that. Jesus’ equality with the Father is based on His Sonship. Bible Study Lesson 6 HOLY SPIRIT—PART 1:GOD’S SPIRIT/MAN’S SPIRIT 1. In what image was man made? Genesis 1:26 “And God said, Let us make man in our image, after our likeness:...” 2. Who was God talking to? Is there another divine Being in the image of God? The Bible describes Christ as the only divine being in God’s image. 2 Corinthians 4:4 “In whom the god of this world hath blinded the minds of them which believe not, lest the light of the glorious gospel of Christ, who is the image of God, should shine unto them.” Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” Colossians 1:15 “Who is the image of the invisible God, the firstborn of every creature:...” Hebrews 1:4 “Being made so much better than the angels, as he hath by inheritance obtained a more excellent name than they.” Unless the Bible reveals to us another divine Being in the image and likeness of God, we must conclude that, in Genesis 1:26, God the Father was talking to His Son. 3. What does the term “image” and “likeness” entail? Genesis 5:3 “And Adam lived an hundred and thirty years, and begat a son in his own likeness, after his image; and called his name Seth” We see here that Seth was in the likeness and image of Adam. That includes physical and spiritual aspect. 4. What is man (living soul) made of? Genesis 2:7 “And the LORD God formed man of the dust of the ground, and breathed into his nostrils the breath of life; and man became a living soul.” human body + human spirit = living human being 5. If man was made in the image of God, and man has two aspects, a spirit and a body, does that mean that God and Christ have a spirit and a bodily form? a. Does God have a bodily form? •Prophets saw God: –Jeremiah 1 Kings 22:19 “And he said, Hear thou therefore the word of the LORD: I saw the LORD sitting on his throne, and all the host of heaven standing by him on his right hand and on his left.” – Isaiah Isaiah 6:1 “In the year that king Uzziah died I saw also the Lord sitting upon a throne, high and lifted up, and his train filled the temple.” (Also Daniel [Daniel 7:9, 13] and John [Revelation 4:2, 3] saw God) •Christ was in the form of God before the Incarnation: Philippians 2:6 “Who, being in the form of God, thought it not robbery to be equal with God:...” • Jesus said that His Father has a form which no man has seen: John 6:46 “Not that any man hath seen the Father, save he which is of God, he hath seen the Father.” (see also John 5:37) •We will see God: Matthew 5:8 “Blessed are the pure in heart: for they shall see God.” b. Does God have a spirit? Father: John 4:24 “God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.” (see also Matthew 10:20) Jesus: 1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” (see also Philippians 1:19) Divine Body/Form + Divine Spirit = Divine Being 6. Are there any parallels between “man and his spirit” and “God and His spirit?” 1 Corinthians 2:11 “For what man knoweth the things of a man, save the spirit of man which is in him? even so the things of God knoweth no man, but the Spirit of God.” (“even so” means “in like manner”) The above text tells us that “what man’s spirit is to man” is the same as “what God’s spirit is to God.” Yet the text marks out a very important difference. While the spirit of man is “in him,” the spirit of God is not limited to the bodily form of God. 7. What does the spirit of man refer to? • Mind—Daniel 2:1 “And in the second year of the reign of Nebuchadnezzar Nebuchadnezzar dreamed dreams, wherewith his spirit was troubled, and his sleep brake from him.” (Obviously Nebuchadnezzar could not sleep because he was thinking of the dream he had. In other words, his mind was troubled.) •Heart—Psalms 34:18 “The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart; and saveth such as be of a contrite spirit.” (see also Psalms 51:10, 17; 77:6; 78:8; Ezekiel 36:26) • Life/breath—Job 27:3 “All the while my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils;...” (Isaiah 38:16; see also Job 27:3; Revelation 11:11) The spirit of man is the personality, character and life of the man. It is one’s own person. 8. How does the Bible explain God’s Spirit? • Mind—compare Isaiah 40:13 with Paul’s quote in Romans 11:34. Isaiah 40:13 “Who hath directed the Spirit of the LORD, or being his counsellor hath taught him?” Romans 11:34 “For who hath known the mind of the Lord? or who hath been his counsellor?” (see also 1 Corinthians 2:16) •Life—John 6:63 “It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life.” Romans 8:10 “And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” (see also Genesis 2:7; Job 27:3; 33:4; Revelation 11:11) Just like the relation between man and his spirit, so is the relation between God and His spirit. The spirit of God is His own personality, character, life and thoughts. 9. If the spirit of man is none other than his own presence/person, then can we say that the spirit of God is His own presence? Psalm 139:7 “Where shall I go from your Spirit? Or where shall I flee from your presence?” Psalm 51:11 “Cast me not away from thy presence; and take not thy holy spirit from me.” Conclusion: God has a bodily form and has a spiritual presence. His spirit is not limited to His body. In the same way that your spirit is your own person, mind, and presence so is God’s spirit His own person, mind, presence. Bible Study Lesson 7 HOLY SPIRIT – PART 2: IDENTITY OF THE HOLY SPIRIT In the previous lesson we established that God’s spirit is His own mind, life, presence and person. In this lesson we want to see where the Spirit proceeds from and the identity of the Spirit. 1. What did Jesus promise before He left? John 14:16, 17, 26 “And I will pray the Father, and he shall give you another Comforter, that he may abide with you for ever; Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you. … But the Comforter, which is the Holy Ghost, whom the Father will send in my name, he shall teach you all things, and bring all things to your remembrance, whatsoever I have said unto you.” 2. According to the Bible, whose spirit is the “Holy Spirit?”Compare the following two verses: Mark 13:11 “But when they shall lead you, and deliver you up, take no thought beforehand what ye shall speak, neither do ye premeditate: but whatsoever shall be given you in that hour, that speak ye:for it is not ye that speak, but the Holy Ghost.” Matthew records it as follows: Matthew 10:19, 20 “But when they deliver you up, take no thought how or what ye shall speak: for it shall be given you in that same hour what ye shall speak. For it is not ye that speak, but the Spirit of your Father which speaketh in you.” Holy Spirit = Spirit of the Father Also compare the following two verses: 2 Peter 1:21 “For the prophecy came not in old time by the will of man: but holy men of God spake as they were moved by the Holy Ghost.” While in his first letter talking about the same thing, Peter says: 1 Peter 1:10,11 “Of which salvation the prophets have enquired and searched diligently, who prophesied of the grace that should come unto you: Searching what, or what manner of time the Spirit of Christ which was in them did signify, when it testified beforehand the sufferings of Christ, and the glory that should follow.” Holy Spirit = Spirit of Christ According to the previous four verses, we can safely conclude: Spirit of Christ = Holy Spirit = Spirit of your Father 3. How many holy spirits are there? Ephesians 4:4 “There is one body, and one Spirit, even as ye are called in one hope of your calling.” (See also 1 Corinthians 6:17; 12:13; Ephesians 2:18) 4. When we receive the Holy Spirit who do we receive? John 14:23 “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” According to Jesus, when we receive the Holy Spirit, we receive both, the Father and the Son. 5. Do the Father and the Son possess the same Spirit/life? Romans 8:9, 10 “But ye are not in the flesh, but in the Spirit, if so be that the Spirit of God dwell in you. Now if any man have not the Spirit of Christ, he is none of his. And if Christ be in you, the body is dead because of sin; but the Spirit is life because of righteousness.” In this verse, while talking about the same spirit, Paul uses the following terminologies: Spirit, Spirit of God, Spirit of Christ, Christ. This tells us Paul believed that the Holy Spirit is the Spirit/ Life of both, the Father and the Son. 6. Where does the Spirit come from? John 15:26 “But when the Comforter is come, whom I will send unto you from the Father, even the Spirit of truth, which proceedeth from the Father, he shall testify of me:...” 7. Why does the Spirit proceed from the Father? 1 Corinthians 8:6 “But to us there is but one God the Father, of whom are all things, and we in him; and one Lord Jesus Christ, by whom are all things, and we by him.” Romans 11:36 “For of him, and through him, and to him, are all things: to whom be glory for ever. Amen.” The Spirit (life of God) proceeds from the Father, because all things are of Him. He is the source of all things. (Please see Lesson 3 for further information.) 8. Through whom does this spirit come to us? Ephesians 2:18 “For through him [Jesus] we both have access by one Spirit unto the Father.” John 20:22 “And when he had said this, he breathed on them, and saith unto them, Receive ye the Holy Ghost:...” The Spirit of the Father comes to us through Jesus, and through Him, it returns. 9. Who comes to us to be our Comforter? John 14:18, 19 “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you. Yet a little while, and the world seeth me no more; but ye see me: because I live, ye shall live also.” 10. How does the Father send Jesus to us? Is it Jesus in flesh or in Spirit? Galatians 4:6 “And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father.” Note: Paul tells us in Galatians that when we receive the Spirit of Jesus, we cry “Abba Father.” Yet, he also tells us in Romans 8:15 that when we receive the Spirit we cry “Abba, Father.” This is another confirmation that the Holy Spirit is none other than the spirit of Jesus. Also compare Galatians 4:6 with Acts 3:26 11. When we receive the Spirit of Jesus, is that someone different to Christ? 2 Corinthians 3:17 “Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty.” Paul told us, in 1 Corinthians 8:6, that there is one Lord, Jesus Christ, and in Ephesians 4:4, that there is one spirit. Yet Paul tells us in the above verse, that “the Lord is that Spirit.” If the Lord is Jesus and there is one spirit, then it is only logical and scriptural to believe that the Holy Spirit is none other than the Lord Jesus Christ in spirit form. Jesus Himself comes to us as a personal Comforter. The Spirit is the person of Jesus. 12. Does the Bible tell us that Jesus became a spirit? 1 Corinthians 15:45 “And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit.” 13. Why does the Bible sometimes say that when the Comforter comes both the Father and the Son will come, while in other places it says Jesus is that Spirit? 2 Corinthians 5:19 “God was in Christ, reconciling the world unto himself,...” John 14:10, 20 “Believest thou not that I am in the Father, and the Father in me? the words that I speak unto you I speak not of myself: but the Father that dwelleth in me, he doeth the works. At that day ye shall know that I am in my Father, and ye in me, and I in you.” 14. Who is it that knocks on the door of our heart? Revelation 3:20 “Behold, I stand at the door, and knock: if any man hear my voice, and open the door, I will come in to him, and will sup with him, and he with me.” 15. What is the hope of Glory? Colossians 1:27 “To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:...” Bible Study Lesson 8 THE FATHER AND SON IN THE SANCTUARY 1. Where can we look to study and learn more about God’s way?The Bible tells us that God’s way is in the sanctuary: Psalms 77:13 “Thy way, O God, is in the sanctuary: who is so great a God as our God?” What does the sanctuary have to say about the Godhead? How many Beings does the sanctuary and its services reveal to us? 2. How many stages does the sanctuary service entail? The sanctuary service entailed three stages the courtyard, the Holy Place and the Most Holy Place. We will look at the three stages independently to see what we can learn from them. I. The Most Holy Place: a. What lessons can we learn from the Most Holy Place in regards to the Godhead? God gave strict instructions that only one being, other than Himself, is allowed to enter the Holy of Holies. 1. Jesus, our High Priest: Only the high priest was allowed to enter into the Most Holy Place (Hebrews 9:6, 7). Jesus is our heavenly High Priest (Hebrews 4:14; 5:10; 6:20). 2. God the Father on the throne: God’s presence dwelt on top of the mercy seat -(Exodus 25:21, 22; Psalms 80:1). God the Father is the One sitting on the throne in the heavenly sanctuary (Revelation 4:2; 5:1-6). 3. Jesus presents our prayers to the Father: Only one being, the high priest, was able to take the incense in before the presence of God on the Day of Atonement (Leviticus 16:11-13). The incense represents the prayers of the saints mingled with Christ’s righteousness (Psalms 141:2, Revelation 5:8; 8:3). It is Christ who receives our prayers and presents them to His Father mingled with His merit and righteousness. b. How many divine Beings does the Most Holy Place present us with? And who are They? A simple study of the Most Holy Place in the earthly sanctuary presents us with only two divine Beings, the Father and the Son, represented by the earthly high priest and God’s presence on the throne. II. The Holy Place: a. What lessons can we learn from the earthly Holy Place in regards to the Godhead? 1. Jesus is our heavenly Priest/High Priest: The priests or the high priest who officiated in the first apartment is a symbol or type of Christ, our High Priest. 2. God’s presence in the Holy Place: The Bible also tells us that in the earthly sanctuary God manifested His glory in both apartments. Exodus 33:9-11 “And it came to pass, as Moses entered into the tabernacle, the cloudy pillar descended, and stood at the door of the tabernacle, and the LORD talked with Moses. And all the people saw the cloudy pillar stand at the tabernacle door: and all the people rose up and worshipped, every man in his tent door. And the LORD spake unto Moses face to face, as a man speaketh unto his friend. And he turned again into the camp: but his servant Joshua, the son of Nun, a young man, departed not out of the tabernacle.” (See also Exodus 29:42-44; 30:36; 40:34, 35; 1Kings 8:10, 11; 2 Chronicals 5:13, 14; 7:1, 2.) In Exodus 33:9-11, we have the example of the presence of two living beings—Moses, the Mediator, and God. Of course we know that Moses represents Jesus, the only Mediator between God and man (1 Timothy 2:5). Hence, this example points forward to the presence of both—Jesus, our Mediator and High Priest, and God the Father in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary. 3. Table of Showbread: The Table of Showbread had two rows of bread on it, six in each row (Leviticus 24: 5, 6). These two rows represented the Father and the Son; here is why: • Two Crowns: The Table of Showbread had two crowns or a double crown on it (Exodus 25:2325). Why two? • Jesus is the Bread: The bread represents Jesus (John 6:51). But Jesus said “I and my Father are one” (John 10:30). Hence, the bread could represent the Father as well. That is why God instructed the priest to place the bread in two stacks (not 1 or 3), representing the Father and the Son, on a table, which had two crowns (not 1 or 3). • Jesus shares the Father’s throne: Revelation 3:21 tells us that Jesus shares His Father’s throne; hence, there are two divine Beings on the throne. • The Table of Shewbread with the two stacks on it is a fit representation of the Father and Son’s presence in the first apartment of the heavenly sanctuary in which Jesus fulfilled His ministration in the Holy Place. b. How many divine Beings does the earthly Holy Place present us with? And Who are They? A study of the earthly Holy Place proves the presence of only two Beings: Jesus, the Mediator/Priest, and God the Father. Again only two living Beings, not three. c. What about the Holy Spirit? Is it present in the Holy Place? In the Holy Place there are impersonal and inanimate elements that represent the Holy Spirit, such as the oil used to light the candle stick. But the point is, that nowhere do we see a third living being representing the Holy Spirit. The spirit is there, yes, but not bodily like the Father and the Son. The oil is a symbol of the spirit, yet the oil is used in the Holy Place to produce light, which is a symbol of Jesus (John 8:12, 9:5). II. The courtyard: a. What lessons can we learn from the courtyard in regards to the Godhead? The service in the courtyard involved three living beings: 1. Jesus is the Sacrifice: The sacrifice, whether a lamb or a bullock, etc. (Leviticus 4:3), represented Jesus, the Son of God (John 1:26, 39). 2. We are the sinners: The sinner, who slew the sacrifice with his own hands (Leviticus 4:4) represented the sinner who confesses his sins and offers up spiritual sacrifices (1Peter 2:5). 3. Jesus is the anointed Priest: The anointed priest took the blood into the sanctuary (Leviticus 4:5). This also represents Jesus, our High Priest. (Hebrews 4:14; 5:10; 6:20) b. How many divine Beings does the courtyard service present us with? These were the only living beings that were involved in the courtyard service. We only see one divine Being. c. What do the other priests represent? Of course, more than one priest officiated in the courtyard as well as in the Holy Place. These priests can represent one of two options: 1. a type of Christ 2. all the saints (The Bible calls the followers of Jesus a “royal priesthood” (1Peter 2:9). They represent the people working in cooperation with Divinity.) Regardless which one you believe to be the correct one, the point still stands, there is no living being representing the Holy Spirit. d. What about the Holy Spirit, is it represented in the courtyard? Again we see in the courtyard some representations of the Holy Spirit, but they are impersonal and inanimate unlike the representations for Jesus. For example: 1. fire on the altar of burnt offering—In Acts 2:3, we see the Spirit poured out in the appearance of cloven tongues of fire. 2. water in the laver—In the New Testament, water has been used to represent the Spirit (see John 4:14; 7:38, 39; Revelation 22:1). But the point still stands, nowhere do we see the Spirit represented as a living being like the Father and the Son. e. What is one of the roles of the high priest in the courtyard that relates to Jesus’ work on Earth? It is important to note that one of the roles or duties of the high priest was to teach the people (Ezekiel 44:23), which of course took place outside the tabernacle since none other than the priests could enter therein. In other words, the priest was not only to minister in the sanctuary before God, he was also to go out and teach the people. The fascinating thing is that the priests were to change their garments before going out to the people. They had to put on a different garment (or outfit) than the one they wore in the presence of God. Ezekiel 44:19 “And when they go forth into the utter court, even into the utter court to the people, they shall put off their garments wherein they ministered, and lay them in the holy chambers, and they shall put on other garments; and they shall not sanctify the people with their garments.” It is here where I believe the type gives us a very interesting and illuminating insight. One of the duties of Christ, our High Priest, is to teach the people outside the sanctuary. Not only that, but according to the type, He is to wear a different outfit, or He is to appear in “another form,” different than while in the presence of God. And that is exactly what Christ is doing. While Jesus ministers in the sanctuary above in His physical or bodily form, He is still—by His Spirit—the minister of the church on Earth. (Galatians 4:6). Jesus Has promised to be with us always, and never leave us or forsake us (Matthew 28:20; Hebrews 13:5). The Bible tells us that Jesus was with His followers “working with them” (Mark 16:20). As you can see, the earthly sanctuary presents us with only two divine Beings: the Father and the Son. There is no room for a third living being in the sanctuary. In addition to that, the sanctuary service teaches us that to fulfil the type, Jesus has to do what the priest did, namely: go out and teach the people, which He does through His own spirit, the Holy Spirit. The apostles understood that, hence Paul’s declaration that Jesus is the Holy Spirit (2 Corinthians 3:17, 1 Corinthians 8:6; also please refer to Lesson 7 for further information.) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next I am the Bread of Life I AM THE BREAD OF LIFE John 6:22-71 is so rich in the non-trinitarian understanding of the Holy Spirit. A comparison with the writings of Paul and Ellen White and the Psalms sheds light on the identity of the Spirit. Read John 6:27 "Labour not for the meat which perisheth, but for that meat which endureth unto everlasting life, which the Son of man shall give unto you: for him hath God the Father SEALED." Compare with Eph 1:13,14 "In whom [Christ] ye also trusted, after that ye heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation: in whom also after that ye believed, ye were SEALED WITH THAT HOLY SPIRIT of promise, Which is the earnest [guarantee] of our inheritance until the redemption of the purchased possession, unto the praise of his glory." Compare also 2 Cor 1:22 "Who [God] hath also SEALED us, and given the earnest [guarantee] of the SPIRIT in our hearts." Comparing John 6:27 with Eph 1:13,14 and 2Cor 1:22, we find an indication that the meat that Christ gives us that will spring up to eternal life is His Holy Spirit, for God has sealed us with Christ's Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee for our future inheritance. Read John 6:33 "For the bread of God is he which cometh down from heaven, and giveth life unto the world." The Bread here is synonymous with the Meat in verse 27 above. If the meat that Christ gives us is His Spirit, then we can expect that the Bread from God that gives life to the world would also be Christ's Spirit. Read John 6:35 "And Jesus said unto them, I am the bread of life: he that cometh to me shall never hunger; and he that believeth on me shall never thirst." The Bread of Life is Jesus Himself, although in verse 33 Jesus used the 3rd person to refer to Himself, as He also did in John 14:16 when speaking of the Comforter or Spirit of truth. Read John 6:51 "I am the living bread which came down from heaven: if any man eat of this bread, he shall live for ever: and the bread that I will give is my flesh, which I will give for the life of the world." When Christ said to eat this bread, He could not have meant His physical body. The only other possibility is His Spirit, for we can take or receive His Spirit into our heart. The following quote from the Spirit of Prophecy reveals that it is the Holy Spirit that comes to our soul and transforms our heart to reproduce the image or character of God in us when the Bread of Life is assimilated into our life. So the Bread of Life is Christ's Spirit, which is received into our heart, with which we are sealed for eternal life. "The Holy Spirit comes to the soul as a Comforter. By the transforming agency of His grace, the image of God is reproduced in the disciple; he becomes a new creature. Love takes the place of hatred, and the heart receives the divine similitude. This is what it means to live "by every word that proceedeth out of the mouth of God." This is eating the Bread that comes down from heaven." {Desire of Ages 391} Read John 6:56 "He that eateth my flesh, and drinketh my blood, dwelleth in me, and I in him." Compare with John 14:17 "Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you." Compare also with Gal 4:6 "And because ye are sons, God hath sent forth the Spirit of his Son into your hearts, crying, Abba, Father." When we take Christ's Spirit (represented by His flesh/meat/bread), Christ will dwell in us by His Spirit, as He promised in John 14:17, that the Spirit of truth will be in us, and as Paul said in Gal 4:6, the Spirit of God's Son has been sent into our hearts. The following SOP quote also confirms that eating the Bread of Life is the assimilation of Christ's mind and character into our life. In other words, when we receive His Spirit into our heart, we have His mind and character. So the Holy Spirit is also Christ's mind and character. "We are living in times full of importance to each one. Light is shining in clear, steady rays around us. If this light is rightly received and appreciated, it will be a blessing to us and to others; but if we trust in our own wisdom and strength, or in the wisdom and strength of our fellowmen, it will be turned into a poison. In the struggle for eternal life, we cannot lean upon one another. The BREAD OF LIFE must be eaten by each one. Individually we must partake of it, that soul, body, and mind may be revived and strengthened by its transforming power, thus becoming assimilated to the MIND and CHARACTER of JESUS CHRIST. God must be made first and last and best in everything." {Testimonies to Ministers 385.1} Read John 6:63 "It is the spirit that quickeneth; the flesh profiteth nothing: the words that I speak unto you, they are spirit, and they are life." In John 5:21, Christ said He quickens [gives life to] the dead. "For as the Father raiseth up the dead, and quickeneth them; even so the Son quickeneth whom he will." Psa 119:50 "Thy word hath quickened me." Christ's flesh also represents the words that He speaks, and His words are spirit and life. In Psa 33:6 we see a parallel between His Word and His breath. "By the word of the LORD were the heavens made; and all the host of them by the breath of his mouth." In John 20:22, He breathed upon them and said, "Receive the Holy Spirit." So word and breath are both synonymous with the Spirit. Both His flesh and His words refer to His Spirit that quickens. In other words, when we take in Christ's words, or His Spirit, He makes us alive forever. Compare with 1 Cor 15:45 "And so it is written, The first man Adam was made a living soul; the last Adam was made a quickening spirit." Christ is the last Adam. After His ascension, He was made a quickening Spirit, which means a Spirit that gives us eternal life. This is the same Spirit of truth, the Comforter, that He promised to send, and which He fulfilled when He came to the disciples again on the day of Pentecost as a quickening Spirit. And by receiving the Spirit of Christ into our heart, we are sealed for eternal life. 2 Cor 3:17 "Now the Lord is that Spirit: and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is liberty." John 6:64-66 "But there are some of you that believe not. For Jesus knew from the beginning who they were that believed not, and who should betray him. And he said, Therefore said I unto you, that no man can come unto me, except it were given unto him of my Father. From that time many of his disciples went back, and walked no more with him." Just as many of Christ's disciples in His day did not want to believe in the Bread of Life, so today many who profess to follow Christ do not want to believe in the Spirit of Christ. They were offended when Christ offers them His own Spirit to dwell in their heart, for they believe in another spirit other than Christ. So in the end they walk no more with Christ, even though they may think they are serving God actively. These are the ones who will shockingly hear Christ say, "I never knew you." (Matt 7:23) How terrible that will be! May we ever receive Christ's Spirit into our heart so that we reflect His character fully and be sealed unto eternal life. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next Was Jesus Created if He is Not God Was Jesus Created if He is Not God? It is claimed that Arius who was a fourth century Alexandrian priest taught that prior to making anything else, God had a son who was begotten, or created or established. Some claim that back in the dawn of time, God the Father had some form of cosmic intimate relations with the Holy Spirit and Jesus was the product. They reason, “How else can you call Him the Son.” But these concepts are contrary to Scripture in which Jesus is revealed as the Creator and not a created being and has existed long before He created all things. (John 1:1-4) The Bible states that Christ was not created but created all things. John 1:3 states, “All things were made by him; and without him was not anything made that was made.” This verse has two direct statements being that Jesus pre-existed and created all things and that all things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. Did you notice that John said that not only were all things made through Him but also that without Him nothing was made. Paul also confirms what John wrote, “For by Him all things were created.” He continues with even greater clarity to make sure that we understand what he means by all things. “For by him were all things created, that are in heaven, and that are in earth, visible and invisible, whether they be thrones, or dominions, or principalities, or powers: all things were created by him, and for him:” Colossians 1:16 If Jesus created all things then He could not have been one of the created things. Paul adds the following just so there can be no mistake about this fact. “And he is before all things, and by him all things consist.” Colossians 1:17 If Christ created everything that was ever created, and existed before all created things, it is evident that Christ Himself is not among the created things. He is above all creation, not part of it. The idea that Christ is a created being denies His Divinity. No one who holds this view can possibly have any just conception of the exalted position which Christ truly occupies. Note that the Spirit of Prophecy does not equate being born with being created as some imply. “God so loved the world, that he gave his only-begotten Son,”-- NOT A SON BY CREATION, as were the angels, nor a son by adoption, as is the forgiven sinner, BUT A SON BEGOTTEN IN THE EXPRESS IMAGE OF THE FATHER'S PERSON,” — (E.G. White, ST, May 30, 1895) Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

Back to Contents Previous Download 看中文 Next The Top Fifteen Excuses Used to Avoid the Sabbath(Part 2) Was the Sabbath abolished? Many Christians believe that Colossians 2:16, Galatians 4:10 and Romans 14:5 are referring to the Seventh day Sabbath and even some believe that Colossians 2:16 refers to the Ten Commandments rather than the referenced ceremonial law. Before continuing with these three very misunderstood verses, let’s give a quick explanation on how the Ten Commandments and the Ceremonial law relate to each other. If a man sinned, he broke LAW No. 1 - the moral law of the Ten Commandments. So then he brought his offering, according to LAW No. 2 - the law of sacrifices, and he received forgiveness. LAW No. 1 defines sin, for sin is the transgression of the moral law. (1 John 3:4) LAW No. 2 defined sacrifices, the Ceremonial law which was the remedy for sin. When the Israelite sinned, he broke the first law. To secure forgiveness he had to obey the second law. So here are two very distinct laws. This is the biggest area of confusion when it comes to concluding the Sabbath or Ten Commandments were abolished. Law No. 2 was ONLY for the Children of Israel and Jews until the cross while Law No. 1 is eternal and for EVERYONE. Colossians 2:16 reads, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat (offering), or in drink (offering), or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:” and so the argument is the fourth Commandment was deleted from stone. What was done away with here was called the ordinances (Ceremonial Law). This is seen by noting what Paul said two verses earlier. Colossians 2:14 states, “blotting out the handwriting (Moses) of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and has taken it out of the way, nailing it to the cross.” Paul then goes on to say, so “Let no man therefore judge you…of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days:” Luke 1:6 KJV shows that the ordinances and the Commandments are two totally different things. It states, “And they were both righteous before God, walking in all the Commandments and ordinances of the Lord blameless.” And Hebrews 9:1 explains that the ordinances of this ceremonial sanctuary system are now gone leaving only the Ten Commandments, “Then verily the first covenant had also ordinances of divine service, and a worldly sanctuary.” It was the ordinances that were nailed to the cross, “not one jot or one tittle” of the law. The main differences between the Commandments and the ordinances are that the Commandments were written by God’s finger, written in stone, placed inside the Ark of the Covenant, are love, eternal, for everyone and it is sin to break them. The ordinances were in Moses’ handwriting, written in a book, placed on the outside of the Ark of the Covenant, are not love, not eternal and were only for the Jews and practised because of sin. The One great and perfect Sacrifice was offered that Friday afternoon, when the true Passover Lamb bowed His head and died. When He cried out, “It is finished”, the old ceremonial law that pointed the people to His sacrificial death was nailed to the cross. Note how every part of these verses in Colossians 2:14-17 refers to the ceremonial law. Unfortunately, most modern Bible translations have translated the phrase meat or in drink in verse sixteen incorrectly. The King James Bible is one of the few translations that has translated these words correctly and is therefore recommended in these studies. So much gets lost at times when translators don’t have a good understanding of Jewish culture and terminology. To be referring to clean or unclean foods here would be totally out of context for the passage but when it is kept in context, every single point here refers to the various feast days that belonged to the sacrificial sanctuary system. Further clarification is found in the book of Hebrews which is believed by most to be written by Paul. You will note that the context of this passage is undoubtedly the sanctuary service in regards to sacrifices and offerings, of which Christ became the One and final perfect sacrifice for us. The meat and drink described in this passage has to be meat and drink offerings by the unmistakable context of this passage in Hebrews 9:7-14 below. Paul speaks of meat and drink offerings and carnal ordinances which were imposed until the time of reformation, being Jesus Christ who obtained eternal redemption for us and brought an end to the sacrifices prescribed by the ordinances of the ceremonial law once and for all. This continues to illustrate the perfect context of Colossians 2:16 and as per Colossians 2:14, we see that everything referenced belongs to the ordinances of the ceremonial law which Paul said was against us and contrary to us and it was taken out the way and nailed to the cross by Jesus’ perfect sacrifice. Extra verses are given to show context. Hebrews 9:7-14 “But into the second went the high priest alone once every year, not without blood, which he offered for himself, and for the errors of the people: The Holy Ghost this signifying, that the way into the holiest of all was not yet made manifest, while as the first tabernacle was yet standing: Which was a figure for the time then present, in which were offered both gifts and sacrifices, that could not make him that did the service perfect, as pertaining to the conscience; Which stood only in meats and drinks, and divers washings, and carnal ordinances, imposed on them until the time of reformation. But Christ being come an high priest of good things to come, by a greater and more perfect tabernacle, not made with hands, that is to say, not of this building; Neither by the blood of goats and calves, but by his own blood he entered in once into the holy place, having obtained eternal redemption for us. For if the blood of bulls and of goats, and the ashes of an heifer sprinkling the unclean, sanctifieth to the purifying of the flesh: How much more shall the blood of Christ, who through the eternal Spirit offered himself without spot to God, purge your conscience from dead works to serve the living God?” Nowhere in this passage are clean and unclean foods referred to and there never were unclean drinks, only unclean foods and these had no relationship to the ordinances that were nailed to the cross. What is spoken of here in both Colossians and Hebrews are references to meat and drink offerings that were part of the sanctuary service that are in the ordinances of the ceremonial law. This is all that can possibly be referred to and when done so it fits absolutely perfectly into the context of both passages as it remains totally in context with the sanctuary service. So let’s look at Colossians 2:14-17 again to see if everything does actually refer to the ceremonial law by the fact that the context of the passage remains the same throughout. “Blotting out the handwriting”, the ceremonial law was written in Moses handwriting. “Ordinances”, Strong’s dictionary also directly translates this word to ceremonial law, “that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way”, the ceremonial law is now against us and contrary to us, as Christ has become that One and perfect sacrifice for us. “Nailing it to his cross”, and of course now that Christ has become that perfect sacrifice for us, no longer are meat and drink offerings and animal sacrifices and all associated Holy days necessary, so the ceremonial law was nailed to the cross. Moving onto verse sixteen, “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink”, and as we have now seen were part of the ceremonial law. “Or in respect of an holyday”, these Holy days included such days as Passover, Feast of Weeks and many others. “Or of the new moon”, new moon celebrations were also part of the ordinances. “Or of the sabbath days”, Passover, Feast of Unleavened Bread, Feast of Weeks, Day of Atonement, Feast of Tabernacles and many others were all sabbath days. When spoken of in plural and the context of the passage is the ceremonial law, then the sabbaths referred to can be nothing else but ceremonial. Verse seventeen goes on to say, “Which are a shadow of things to come.” These sabbaths were called a shadow because Passover was a shadow of the crucifixion and Feast of Weeks was a shadow of Pentecost. These Old Testament feasts and holy days were shadows of what was to come and once those things had come and gone then the shadows disappeared. Here is one verse from Leviticus that refers to such feasts and Holy days, which involves meat and drink, that is meat and drink offerings. Leviticus 23:37, “These are the feasts of the LORD, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice and drink offerings, everything upon his day.” You can also find the perfect parallel between Colossians 2:16 and Ezekiel 45:17. You will note in Ezekiel 45:17 that this was a sin offering, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel for breaking God’s Commandments as prescribed by the ceremonial law until such time that Jesus nailed this law to the cross. Parentheses are added. This is what Israel had to do to make atonement for sin, which is the breaking of God’s Ten Commandments and of course includes the Seventh Day Sabbath. This clearly demonstrates the issue and leaves no doubt as to what Paul was explaining to the Colossians. Note first the Strong’s dictionary definition for holyday used in Colossians 2:16. You will note that the words “feast” and “holyday” are synonymous and so the following two verses are a perfect match. G1859 heorte, Of uncertain affinity; a festival: - feast, holyday. Colossians 2:16 “Let no man therefore judge you in meat [offerings], or in drink [offerings], or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:” Ezekiel 45:17 “And it shall be the prince’s part to give burnt offerings, and meat offerings, and drink offerings, in the feasts, [holydays] and in the new moons, and in the sabbaths, in all solemnities of the house of Israel: he shall prepare the sin offering, and the meat offering, and the burnt offering, and the peace offerings, to make reconciliation for the house of Israel.” Here is a table comparison for those who prefer this format. Colossians 2:16 Ezekiel 45:17 meat, or in drink, meat offerings, and drink offerings, of an holyday, Strong's - feast, holyday in the feasts, or of the new moon and in the new moons, or of the sabbath days: and in the sabbaths, These various Holy days or festivals concerned days that took place at various times of the year as well as yearly Holy days such as the Day of Atonement and monthly like the New Moon celebrations already discussed. As these were a shadow of things to come and those things have past and the shadows are now gone, to still observe these days would be putting us back into unnecessary bondage. This is what Paul is talking about in Galatians 4:9-10 which says, “But now, after that you have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn you again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days, and months, and times, and years.” Paul is definitely not saying you can ignore anything that is a day, month or year in the Bible. He is referring to something that includes all of these things, which is and can only be the ceremonial law. Compare with Colossians 2:16. See what is the law in Galatians for more clarity on this very misunderstood book. The ordinances of the ceremonial law was a law of servitude and bondage. Galatians 4:3 “Even so we, when we were children, were in bondage under the elements of the world:” Paul continues telling the Galatians that they are no longer servants in Galatians 4:7 “Wherefore you are no more a servant, but a son; and if a son, then an heir of God through Christ.” God’s Commandments on the other hand are a law of liberty. James 1:25 “But whoso looketh into the perfect law of liberty, and continueth therein, he being not a forgetful hearer, but a doer of the work, this man shall be blessed in his deed.” And for further clarity James 2:11-12 reads, “For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if you commit no adultery, yet if you kill, you are become a transgressor of the law. So speak you, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty.” If we keep these points in mind and explore the context of the chapter when studying the Bible it will help us see what law is being spoken of. See Colossians 2:16 and Galatians 4:10 Commentaries. While still on this very misunderstood topic of the ceremonial law, let’s cover another scripture that is frequently misinterpreted. Such misunderstandings are common with God’s Ten Commandment law and this temporary law which pointed the way to Christ. I have chosen to use some Bible Commentaries for this scripture, as I believe they explain it very well. The scripture concerned, is mainly Romans 14:5, but I have given the surrounding verses so the context of the passage can be seen. Romans 14:1-5, “Him that is weak in the faith receive you, but not to doubtful disputations. 2 For one believeth that he may eat all things: another, who is weak, eateth herbs. 3 Let not him that eateth despise him that eateth not; and let not him which eateth not judge him that eateth: for God has received him. 4 Who are you that judgest another man’s servant? to his own master he standeth or falleth. Yes, he shall be holden up: for God is able to make him stand. 5 One man esteemeth one [feast] day above another: another esteemeth every [feast] day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind.” Note that the word “alike” in verse 5 does not exist in the Greek text and is an added word, which tends to convey an idea which the apostle never designed or intended. Parentheses are added. To begin with, it must be admitted that the word “Sabbath” is very significantly not even found once in this entire chapter. People assume Paul is talking about the Sabbath. But is he really? The chapter begins, “Him that is weak in the faith receive you, but not to doubtful disputations.” Romans 14:1. The NKJV reads, “disputes over doubtful things.” This chapter concerns “doubtful things” and is not a discussion of the Ten Commandments. God’s “Big Ten” are not “doubtful,” but exceedingly dear and written personally with the finger of God on two tables of stone. It becomes clear from Romans 14 and 15, that many misunderstandings existed between Jewish and Gentile Christians in relation to certain customs, which were sacredly observed by one but disregarded by the other. The main subject of dispute was concerning meats and days and the day issue is not over the Seventh day Sabbath but over the various feast days of the ceremonial law. The converted Jew retaining respect for the Law of Moses abstained from certain meats and observed ceremonial days while the converted Gentile understood that Christianity put him under no such obligation or regard to ceremonial points. It also appears that mutual and heartless judgments existed among them and that brotherly love and reciprocal tolerance did not always prevail. Paul exhorts that in such things no longer essential to Christianity, that even though both parties had a different way of thinking they might still have an honest and serious regard for God. Paul further explains they should not therefore, let different sentiments hinder Christian fellowship and love, but they should mutually refrain and withhold and make allowance for each other and especially not carry their Gospel liberty so far as to prejudice a weak brother or a Jewish Christian. The “weak” brother “eats” some things and “esteems one day above another” while the strong brother believes that he may “eat all things” and “esteems every day alike.” Romans 14:2, 5. The early Church was made up of Jewish believers and Gentile converts. Although Paul did not specify what “days” he was referring to, he could only be talking about the “esteeming” or “not esteeming” of certain Jewish fast or feast days and certain pagan feast days when people were especially “eating of those things that are offered in sacrifice unto idols.” 1 Corinthians 8:4. A “strong” Jew who knew that “an idol is nothing” would have no scruples about eating “meat in an idols temple” on a pagan feast day. 1 Corinthians 8-4, 10. Paul warned these “strong” Jewish believers, “But take heed lest by any means this liberty of yours become a stumbling block to them that are weak. [the Gentile convert from idolatry]. For if any man see thee which hast knowledge sit at meat in the idol’s temple [on a pagan feast day], shall not the conscience of him that is weak be emboldened to eat those things which are offered to idols; and through your knowledge shall the weak brother perish [if he is drawn back to idolatry], for whom Christ died? But when you sin against the brethren, and wound their weak conscience, you sin against Christ. Wherefore, if meat make my brother to offend, I will eat no flesh while the world standeth.” 1 Corinthians 8:9-13. There is NO evidence that the discussion about “the weak and the strong” in Romans 14 and 1 Corinthians 8 has anything to do with the Sabbath. God has never said “one man may choose to esteem MY Sabbath, while another man may choose to esteem Sunday, or every day alike.” He has NOT left it up to us to “pick a day.” Rather, God has commanded, “Remember the sabbath day to keep it holy ... the seventh day is the sabbath of the Lord thy God.” Exodus 20:8-10. The book of Romans is very clear, “by the law is the knowledge of sin.” Romans 3:20; 7:7, 12 When the context of the passage is about foods or various days and especially things associated with the sanctuary service, then we must realize that it is not possible that the Ten Commandments are being referred to. When God’s Moral law is being referenced, you will always know as the context of the passage will be centred around love, as that is what God’s law is. The Bible tells us in 1 John 4:8, “He that loves not, knows not God; for God Is Love.” As God is eternal, then Love also must be eternal. 1 John 4:16 says, “And we have known and believed the love that God has to us. God is love; and he that dwells in love dwells in God, and God in him.” Love and obedience are inseparable from God and the true Christian, as God is Love and Love is God. This is why the Ten Commandments are eternal and unchanging, as God changes not, and Love changes not. The Sabbath is a love Commandment! The remainder of this topic will now be left to some of the world’s best theologians so no doubt can be left as to what the meaning of this passage is all about. John Wesley’s Explanatory Notes on the Whole Bible, Romans 14:5 - One day above another - As new moons, and other Jewish festivals. Let every man be fully persuaded - That a thing is lawful, before he does it. Adam Clarke’s Commentary on the Bible, Romans 14:5 - One man esteemeth one day above another - Perhaps the word ημεραν, day, is here taken for time, festival, and such like, in which sense it is frequently used. Reference is made here to the Jewish institutions, and especially their festivals; such as the Passover, Pentecost, feast of tabernacles, new moons, jubilee, etc. The converted Jew still thought these of moral obligation; the Gentile Christian not having been bred up in this way had no such prejudices. And as those who were the instruments of bringing him to the knowledge of God gave him no such injunctions, consequently he paid to these no religious regard. Another - The converted Gentile esteemeth every day - considers that all time is the Lord’s, and that each day should be devoted to the glory of God; and that those festivals are not binding on him. We add here alike, and make the text say what I am sure was never intended, viz. that there is no distinction of days, not even of the Sabbath: and that every Christian is at liberty to consider even this day to be holy or not holy, as he happens to be persuaded in his own mind. That the Sabbath is of lasting obligation may be reasonably concluded from its institution (see the note on Genesis 2:3) and from its typical reference. All allow that the Sabbath is a type of that rest in glory which remains for the people of God. Now, all types are intended to continue in full force till the antitype, or thing signified, take place; consequently, the Sabbath will continue in force till the consummation of all things. The word alike should not be added; nor is it acknowledged by any MS. or ancient version. Let every man be fully persuaded - With respect to the propriety or non-propriety of keeping the above festivals, let every man act from the plenary conviction of his own mind; there is a sufficient latitude allowed. Albert Barnes’ Notes on the Bible, Romans 14:5 - One man esteemeth - Greek “judgeth” krinei. The word is here properly translated “esteemeth;” compare Acts 13:46; Acts 16:15. The word originally has the idea of “separating,” and then “discerning,” in the act of judging. The expression means that one would set a higher value on one day than on another, or would regard it as more sacred than others. This was the case with the “Jews” uniformly, who regarded the days of their festivals, and fasts, and Sabbaths (i.e. ceremonial Sabbaths) as especially sacred, and who would retain, to no inconsiderable degree, their former views, even after they became converted to Christianity. Another “esteemeth - That is, the “Gentile” Christian. Not having been brought up amidst the Jewish customs, and not having imbibed their opinions and prejudices, they would not regard these days as having any special sacredness. The appointment of those days had a special reference “to the Jews.” They were designed to keep them as a separate people, and to prepare the nation for the “reality,” of which their rites were but the shadow. When the Messiah came, the Passover, the feast of tabernacles, and the other special festivals of the Jews, of course vanished, and it is perfectly clear that the apostles never intended to inculcate their observance on the Gentile converts. See this subject discussed in the second chapter of the Epistle to the Galatians. Every day alike - The word “alike” is not in the original, and it may convey an idea which the apostle did not design. The passage means that he regards “every day” as consecrated to the Lord; Romans 14:6. The question has been agitated whether the apostle intends in this to include the Christian Sabbath. Does he mean to say that it is a matter of “indifference” whether this day be observed, or whether it be devoted to ordinary business or amusements? This is a very important question in regard to the Lord’s day. That the apostle did not mean to say that it was a matter of indifference whether it should be kept as holy, or devoted to business or amusement, is plain from the following considerations. (1) the discussion had reference only to the special customs of the “Jews,” to the rites and practices which “they” would attempt to impose on the Gentiles, and not to any questions which might arise among Christians as “Christians.” The inquiry pertained to “meats,” and festival observances among the Jews, and to their scruples about partaking of the food offered to idols, etc.; and there is no more propriety in supposing that the subject of the Lord’s day is introduced here than that he advances principles respecting “baptism” and “the Lord’s supper.” (2) the “Lord’s day” was doubtless observed by “all” Christians, whether converted from Jews or Gentiles; see 1Corinthians 16:2; Acts 20:7; Revelation 1:10; compare the notes at John 20:26. The propriety of observing “that day” does not appear to have been a matter of controversy. The only inquiry was, whether it was proper to add to that the observance of the Jewish Sabbaths, and days of festivals and fasts. (3) it is expressly said that those who did not regard the day regarded it as not to God, or to honor God; Romans 14:6. They did it as a matter of respect to him and his institutions, to promote his glory, and to advance his kingdom. Was this ever done by those who disregard the Christian Sabbath? Is their design ever to promote his honor, and to advance in the knowledge of him, by “neglecting” his holy day? Who knows not that the Christian Sabbath has never been neglected or profaned by any design to glorify the Lord Jesus, or to promote his kingdom? It is for purposes of business, gain, war, amusement, dissipation, visiting, crime. Let the heart be filled with a sincere desire to “honor the Lord Jesus,” and the Christian Sabbath will be reverenced, and devoted to the purposes of piety. And if any man is disposed to plead “this passage” as an excuse for violating the Sabbath, and devoting it to pleasure or gain, let him quote it “just as it is,” that is, let “him neglect the Sabbath from a conscientious desire to honor Jesus Christ.” Unless this is his motive, the passage cannot avail him. But this motive never yet influenced a Sabbath-breaker. Let every man... - That is, subjects of this kind are not to be pressed as matters of conscience. Every man is to examine them for himself, and act accordingly. This direction pertains to the subject under discussion, and not to any other. It does not refer to subjects that were “morally” wrong, but to ceremonial observances. If the “Jew” esteemed it wrong to eat meat, he was to abstain from it; if the Gentile esteemed it right, he was to act accordingly. The word “be fully persuaded” denotes the highest conviction, not a matter of opinion or prejudice, but a matter on which the mind is made up by examination; see Romans 4:21; 2Timothy 4:5. This is the general principle on which Christians are called to act in relation to festival days and fasts in the church. If some Christians deem them to be for edification, and suppose that their piety will be promoted by observing the days which commemorate the birth, and death, and temptations of the Lord Jesus, they are not to be reproached or opposed in their celebration. Nor are they to attempt to impose them on others as a matter of conscience, or to reproach others because they do not observe them. Notice how the Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge, which primarily references other verses that are referring to the same topic, has referenced the passages that Paul discussed with the Romans, Galatians and Colossians regarding the ceremonial law also. This as we have now seen is because these verses are all referring to the ceremonial law. Treasury of Scriptural Knowledge. Romans 14:5 - esteemeth: Gal 4:9, Gal 4:10; Col 2:16, Col 2:17 People’s New Testament By B. W. Johnson. One man esteemeth one day above another. A second difference of opinion is now cited. Some, Jewish converts or Gentiles who did not understand that the old covenant was ended, believed that the Jewish Sabbaths and new moons should be kept sacred. Compare Colossians 2:16, and Galatians 4:10. This ends the Commentaries on Romans 14:5. You will note that the People’s New Testament commentary above also references Colossians 2:16 and Galatians 4:10. There can be no doubt that the context and the meaning of all these passages is the ceremonial law with all its various holyday festivals, new moons and ceremonial sabbaths. The following table should clear up any remaining misunderstanding between the ceremonial sabbaths and the Sabbath of our Lord. Please look at this table carefully and give the statements that follow some serious thought. Sabbath of the Lord Ceremonial Sabbaths Spoken by God personally (Exodus 20:1, 8-11) Spoken by Moses (Exodus 24:3) Written in stone by God Himself (Exodus 31:18) Written by Moses hand on paper (Exodus 24:4) Placed inside the Ark of the covenant (Deuteronomy 10:5) Stored on the outside of the Ark (Deuteronomy 31:26) Breaking the Sabbath is sin (1 John 3:4) These were kept because of sin (See Leviticus) It is a law of love (Matthew 22:35-40, Isaiah 58:13-14) They were not love (Colossians 2:14, Galatians 4:9-10) It is a law of liberty (freedom) (James 1:25; 2:10-12) They were bondage (Galatians 4:9-10, Colossians 2:14) Was established before sin (Genesis 2:1-3) Were established after sin (Exodus 20:24) Was made at creation (Genesis 2:1-3) Were made after Sinai (Exodus 20:24) The Sabbath is for everyone (Mark 2:27) Only for the children of Israel & Jews (Read Old Testament) God calls it MY Sabbath (Exodus 31:13, Ezekiel 20:20) God calls it HER sabbaths (Hosea 2:11, Lamentations 1:7) The Sabbath is eternal (Exodus 31:16-17, Isaiah 66:22-23) Were nailed to the cross (Colossians 2:14, Ephesians 2:15) The Facts: God is all knowing. (Omniscience) He is a God of infinite wisdom. God is love. (1 John 4:8, 16) God’s Ten Commandments are a law of love. (Moral law) The ceremonial sabbaths were observed as a result of sin. (Are not love) The Sabbath of the Lord is for personal quality time with our Creator. (A love Commandment) The Questions: Why would our omniscient God put His Sabbath in His eternal law of love if it is not eternal? Why would our God of infinite wisdom put His Sabbath in His law of love if it is not a law of love? Why didn’t God put His Sabbath with all the ceremonial Sabbaths if it was to end at the cross? Why didn’t God put His Sabbath with the Jewish ceremonial Sabbaths if His Sabbath was only for the Jews? The Sabbath truth: God did not include His Sabbath with the ceremonial sabbaths that ended at the cross because His Sabbath is not a ceremonial Sabbath. And God did not include His Sabbath with the ceremonial sabbaths that were only for the Jews because His Sabbath is for EVERYONE. Why would our God of infinite wisdom place a temporary law in an eternal law or a law that is not love in a law that is love? Our God “is not the author of confusion…” 1 Corinthians 14:33. God put His Sabbath in His moral law because it is a law of Love and a very special one that is a sign that it is God we Love and Worship and that we are His children. It is also a sign that it is God that sanctifies us. What person who truly loves God would not want to be under this sign? It is NOT a sign when we keep another day. To do so is to profane the Holy and to try and make Holy the profane. Only God can make a day Holy. We are not under Law but under Grace We often hear this argument in an effort to belittle God’s law, “Well, since we are not under the law but under grace, we do not need to keep the Ten Commandments any longer.” Is this a valid point? The Bible certainly does say that we are not under the law, but does that imply that we are free from the obligation to obey it? The text is found in Romans 6:14-15, “For sin shall not have dominion over you: for ye are not under the law, but under grace. What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.” How easily we could prevent confusion if we accepted exactly what the Bible says. Paul gives a clear explanation of his statement. After stating that we are not under law but grace, he asks, “What then?” This simply means, “How are we to understand this?” Then notice his answer. In anticipation that some will construe his words to mean that you can break the law because you are under grace, he says, “Shall we sin (break the law) because we are not under the law but under grace? God forbid.” In the strongest possible language Paul states that being under grace does not give a license to break the law. Yet this is exactly what millions believe today, and they totally ignore Paul’s specific warning. Most do not seem to understand that God’s grace is His unmerited, undeserved favour that is preceded by the act of genuine repentance when we do sin. If there were no law, there would actually be no need for God’s grace. Suppose a murderer has been sentenced to death in the electric chair. Waiting for the execution the man would truly be under the law in every sense of the word, under the guilt, under the condemnation, under the sentence of death, etc. Just before the execution date the governor reviews the condemned man’s case and decides to pardon him. In the light of extenuating circumstances the governor exercises his prerogative and sends a full pardon to the prisoner. Now he is no longer under the law but under grace. The law no longer condemns him. He is considered totally justified as far as the charges of the law are concerned. He is free to walk out of the prison and not a policeman can lay hands upon him. But now that he is under grace and no longer under the law, can we say that he is free to break the law? Indeed not! In fact, that pardoned man will be doubly obligated to obey the law because he has found grace from the governor. In gratitude and love he will be very careful to keep the law of the state which granted him grace. Is that what the Bible says about pardoned sinners? “Do we then make void the law through faith? God forbid: yea, we establish the law.” Romans 3:31. Here is the most explicit answer to the entire problem. Paul asks if the law is nullified for us just because we have had faith in Christ’s saving grace. His answer is that the law is established and reinforced in the life of a grace saved Christian. The truth of this is so simple and obvious that it should require no repetition, but the devious reasoning of those who try to avoid obedience makes it necessary to press this point a bit further. Have you ever been stopped by a policeman for exceeding the speed limit? It is an embarrassing experience, especially if you know you are guilty. But suppose you really were hurrying to meet a valid emergency, and you pour out your convincing explanation to the policeman as he writes your ticket. Slowly he folds the ticket and tears it up. Then he says, “All right, I’m going to pardon you this time, but...” Now what do you think he means by that word “but”? Surely he means, “but I don’t want to ever catch you speeding again.” Does this pardon (grace) open the way for you to disobey the law? On the contrary, it adds compelling urgency to your decision not to disobey the law again. Why then should any true Christian try to rationalize his way out of obeying the law of God? Consider carefully also what 1 John 3:4 says, “Whoever sins is guilty of breaking God’s law, because sin is a breaking of the law.” Are we sinners? If we are not sinners, then why was Jesus nailed to the cross? Did Jesus break the Sabbath? Some say Jesus broke the Sabbath so it was not one of the Ten Commandments but a ceremonial law (Mosaic Law) but the Sabbath was never practised because of sin and this was also before the cross where that law ended and so is irrelevant anyway. 1 John 3:4 says that sin is transgression of the law and if Jesus broke the Sabbath then he would have broken His own law and sinned and hence those making this statement obviously have no idea of the implications of their accusation. Be thankful that Jesus only broke the Pharisees rules as breaking the Sabbath is sin and was also made before sin existed. Jesus was there when the Ten Commandments were given, but that does not mean that He can murder or break any one of the Ten Commandments. As a sinner He could not have been our one and final perfect sacrifice and redeemer. Let's look at the verses in contention just to clear up this fallacy anyway. The main passage is found in the book of John where Jesus healed a man on the Sabbath, and so the Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath. Note that John is quoting the words of the Pharisees in this passage and are not John's personal opinion. We will see evidence of this soon. This is what Jesus said about the Pharisees in Matthew 5:20, “For I say unto you, That except your righteousness shall exceed the righteousness of the scribes and Pharisees, you shall in no case enter into the kingdom of heaven.” These are those who also had Jesus crucified. Whose words do you think we should listen to? The words of Jesus or the words of the Pharisees? John 5:5-18 “And a certain man was there, which had an infirmity thirty and eight years. … 8 Jesus saith unto him, Rise, take up your bed, and walk. 9 And immediately the man was made whole, and took up his bed, and walked: and on the same day was the Sabbath. … 15 The man departed, and told the Jews that it was Jesus, which had made him whole. 16 And therefore did the Jews persecute Jesus, and sought to slay him, because he had done these things on the Sabbath day. 17 But Jesus answered them, My Father worketh hitherto, and I work. 18 Therefore the Jews sought the more to kill him, because he not only had broken the Sabbath, but said also that God was his Father, making himself equal with God.” The Pharisees also accused Jesus of blasphemy because He made Himself equal with the Father. Were the Pharisees correct? They were no more correct on this allegation than they were on their accusation of Jesus breaking the Sabbath. In the book of Matthew, we have another account of Jesus healing someone and the Pharisees once again accused Him of breaking the Sabbath. However, this time we have the words of Jesus to establish if doing good deeds or things of absolute necessity are lawful on the Sabbath. Matthew 12:10-12 “And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath days? that they might accuse him. 11 And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the Sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out? 12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the Sabbath days.” Why do the proponents quote the Pharisees but ignore the words of their own Lord and Saviour? Why would they put their faith in the Pharisees rather than Jesus Christ? Why do they quote John 5:5-18 but never mention Matthew 12:10-12 where Jesus says it was NOT unlawful to heal and do good on the Sabbath? Jesus thankfully did not sin and so did not break any of the Ten Commandments as He clarifies in this passage when He says “that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath,” such as healing people or pulling an animal out of a hole. Is the Sabbath in the New Covenant? Jesus said that He did not come to destroy the law OR the prophets, yet some say that you are putting us back under the Old Covenant and that the Sabbath changed to Sunday with the New Covenant. Not so. Basically, the only change to the New Covenant is the sacrificial Law of Moses ended (Hebrews 9:1) and where God writes His law. God’s law changes not, for He is the same yesterday, today and forever. (Hebrews 13:8) God also said the fault was with the people in they did not obey it, so He now writes His law in our hearts. (Hebrews 8:8-10) See also “Who is Israel Today and the New Covenant.” I had just finished preaching on the subject of the Sabbath in one of my evangelistic crusades. As I stepped off the platform to greet people as they left, three young men blocked my way in the aisle. One of them addressed me in quite a loud voice… loud enough to cause about fifty people near the front of the auditorium to stop and listen. “Dear brother” he said, “we were disappointed tonight with the way you put us back under the Old Covenant. Don’t you realize that we are living under the New Covenant now, and should keep Sunday instead of the Sabbath?” Although most of the congregation were leaving the Church, the group near the front gathered closer to hear all that the young men were saying. It was obvious that I would have to take the time to answer this trio’s challenging question. As I suspected, they turned out to be young seminarians in training at a local Bible college. Eagerly they held their Bibles in their hands and waited triumphantly for me to answer. Usually, I do not like to debate controversial matters in a public forum for fear of stirring combative natures, but there seemed no way to avoid dealing with these ministerial students. Anyway, they had my path completely blocked and the circle of listeners looked at me expectantly for some explanation. “Well, it seems as though you have studied the subject of the covenants quite deeply,” I suggested. “Oh, yes,” they affirmed, “we know all about the covenants.” “Good,” I replied. “You undoubtedly know when the Old Covenant was instituted.” One of them spoke up quickly, “It was instituted at Mt. Sinai.” “And how was it ratified?” I asked. Without a moment’s hesitation one of them answered, “By the sprinkling of the blood of an ox.” “Very good,” I commented, “and how was the New Covenant ratified?” All three chorused the answer, “By the blood of Jesus on the cross.” I commended the young men for their knowledge of the Scriptures and asked them to read me two verses out of their own Bibles. Galatians 3:15 and Hebrews 9:16-17. They responded eagerly to the invitation, and read the verses, commenting on each one after reading. “We agree that the New Covenant did not go into effect until after Christ died, and nothing can be added or taken away after He ratified it on the cross,” the spokesman for the group asserted. All three nodded their heads emphatically over this point. I said, “Now you must answer two more questions for me. Here is the first one, and you must think carefully to give me the correct answer: When did Sunday-keeping begin?” There was a moment of shocked silence, and then another, and another. The boys looked at each other, and then down at their feet, and then back at me. I gently prodded them for the answer, “Surely you can tell me the answer to this question. You have known all the others, and have answered correctly. When and why do you think people began keeping Sunday?” Finally, one of them said, “We keep Sunday in honour of the resurrection of Jesus.” I said, “Then I must ask you my last question. How could Sunday keeping be a part of the New Covenant? You just stated that nothing could be added after the death of Christ. He died on Friday and was resurrected on Sunday. If Sunday was added after Jesus died, it could never be a part of the New Covenant could it?” The three young men shuffled their feet, looked helplessly around, and one of them said, “We will study into that and talk to you later.” They then fled from that auditorium as fast as they could go. I can assure you that they never returned to talk further about the covenants. How could the majority be wrong about the Sabbath? The simple answer is because Satan nearly wiped out the fourth Commandment during the dark ages through the death of millions. And by the time Protestant reformation began, all the Protestant Churches continued keeping Sunday in ignorance. It is always harder to restore a lost truth and even more so when people do not want to know because it would disrupt their Church or lifestyle. See a true story on how the Sabbath was nearly lost. And in Christianity especially, the majority is hardly ever right. How many were right in the time of Noah? Only eight! Revelation says that God is going to destroy a Church for its abominations and yet the majority of Christians belong to this Church. The majority are wrong because Satan works hard to keep this truth from Christians and this is his BEST accomplishment on the Christian Church and the majority have no idea. Why? Because Satan has the majority busy making excuses or perpetuating the last persons excuse instead of studying this out. Sadly, the majority are not searchers of truth and don’t study the Word or see only what they want to see. 2 Timothy 4:3 says, “For the time will come when they will not endure sound doctrine; but after their own lusts shall they heap to themselves teachers, having itching ears; 4 and they shall turn away their ears from the truth, and shall be turned unto fables.” After the Sabbath and other truths were revealed to me in my search, I attempted to share these truths with large numbers of people and was astounded to find more than 98% would not even consider the possibility because they said how could so many be wrong or they just simply did not want to know. This is sad when you consider God created us, sent His Son to die for us and we can’t be obedient to Him in love as it would mean some sacrifice on our part. It is no longer a mystery to me why the majority are wrong. It is because our adversary still has Christians perpetuating those same excuses they were previously told because it means changes they don’t want to consider or they are ignorant of the fact that Satan accomplished the change by the death of millions of Christians over several centuries. Hence the majority continue to stay wrong and only five hundred plus Sabbath keeping Churches of different denominations remain obedient to God in love. Until the majority stop making excuses and start saying let’s investigate this, the majority will remain wrong. Many also do not know that the attack on this Commandment and Sun-day worship actually began with the worship of Satan as early as 2000 B.C. See the Sabbath to Sunday change or who changed the Sabbath to Sunday and how 666 relates to this change. Was the Sabbath changed to Sunday in the Bible? Read the Sabbath to Sunday change for a very detailed account on how and who changed the Sabbath to Sunday. Did God amend the original stone tablets Sabbath Changedthat John saw in heaven in Revelation 11:19 to, “Remember to keep the first day”? Never. You can’t change a memorial day of creation. Paul said in 1 Corinthians 7:19, “Circumcision is nothing, and uncircumcision is nothing, but obeying God’s Commandments is everything.” Paul plainly identifies here how important God’s Commandments are in comparison to circumcision. Yet this law of circumcision that was changed, and does not have the importance of the Ten Commandments, Paul mentioned more than 33 times and up to 10 verses at a time, and they were not verses you were left to make assumptions on. Yet there is not one clear verse in the whole Bible that says the Sabbath was changed to Sunday. Paul’s letters always had plenty to say when people needed correcting or misunderstood the scriptures but the Sabbath was so ingrained in the culture that Paul never had to correct them. Observing the Pharisees reaction to breaking the Sabbath clearly shows this also but they went overboard and turned the day into a burden instead of a blessing, which Jesus found need to correct them on several times. In John 5:18 they accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath by healing a man on the Sabbath. Jesus said that unless your righteousness surpasses that of the Pharisees and the teachers of the law, you will certainly not enter the kingdom of heaven. Whose words should we trust and listen to? The Pharisees or Jesus? In Matthew 12:10-12 Jesus heals a man and He says to them, “…it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath.” Jesus shows that they misunderstood the intent of the Sabbath day, not the day to keep it. Imagine if Jesus had proposed changing the Sabbath, what a dreadful uproar would have ensued by the Jews that would be heard in several books of the Bible. View a short video of a Sabbath miracle. When Christ was in the flesh, and lived on this earth, how did He regard the Sabbath? Luke 4:16, “So He came to Nazareth, where He had been brought up. And as HIS CUSTOM was, He went into the synagogue on the SABBATH DAY, and stood up to read.” Jesus made the seventh day Sabbath and He also kept the seventh day Sabbath. He is our perfect example. We also find after the cross that Sabbath observance continued as we see by Paul’s example. In Acts 13:42-44 there is no conflict between Jews and Gentiles over the day to keep the Sabbath. The Jews of course still continue to keep the seventh day Sabbath today. What a perfect opportunity for the Jews to bring a valid accusation against Paul. But the allegations against Paul were always false and never involved an accusation for breaking the Sabbath such as those the Pharisees falsely brought against Jesus. Acts 13:42-44 “And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besought that these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath. 43 Now when the congregation was broken up, many of the Jews and religious proselytes followed Paul and Barnabas: who, speaking to them, persuaded them to continue in the grace of God. 44 And the next Sabbath day came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God.” Again in this example, we find no conflict between the Jews (who still keep Saturday today) or Greeks in regard to the day. Paul “came to Corinth ... he reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks” Acts 18:1, 4. “He continued a year and six months, teaching the word of God among them” (verse 11). Paul did not preach the traditions of men, but only “the word of God.” “Many of the Corinthians hearing believed, and were baptized,” including “Crispus, the chief ruler of the synagogue” (verse 8). Crispus was a Sabbath keeper who probably became one of the leaders (see 1 Corinthians 1:14) of the early New Testament Sabbath keeping Church of Jesus Christ in Corinth. Paul’s letters, First and Second Corinthians, were written to this Church. After Paul was finally arrested in the Temple in Jerusalem, in his trial before the Sanhedrin, even the Pharisees said, “we find no evil in this man” Acts 23:9. Before Felix, Paul declared, “so worship I the God of my fathers, believing all things which are written in the law and in the prophets” Acts 24:14. Before Festus, “Neither against the law of the Jews, neither against the temple, nor yet against Caesar, have I offended any thing at all...to the Jews have I done no wrong” Acts 25:8, 10. Before Agrippa, “I continue unto this day ... saying none other things than those which the prophets and Moses did say should come” Acts 26:22. The prophets and Moses did not say that “Sunday keeping should come.” Finally, Paul spoke to the Jews in Rome, “persuading them concerning Jesus, both out of the law of Moses, and out of the prophets, from morning till evening” Acts 28:23. During all his trials, the Jews NEVER once accused Paul of breaking the Sabbath. Why? Because he NEVER did! Paul was a Pharisee since his childhood. We also see Paul going into a Jewish synagogue in Thessalonica and “as his custom was, Paul went into the synagogue and on three Sabbath days reasoned with them from the scriptures…” Acts 17:1-4. As already stated, all practicing Jews still keep the seventh day Sabbath today, always have and undeniably did then and so there is no mistake as to what day Paul kept the Sabbath on as was “HIS CUSTOM” as this was a Jewish synagogue. As for his custom, Paul was a Jew and a Pharisee since childhood. Acts 26:5-6 “The Jews all know the way I have lived ever since I was a child, from the beginning of my life in my own country, and also in Jerusalem. They have known me for a long time and can testify, if they are willing, that according to the strictest sect of our religion, I lived as a Pharisee.” Jesus also said in Matthew 5:18, “…Till the heaven and the earth pass away, not one jot or one tittle shall in any way pass from the Law...” Not even a comma of the law will be altered. We never have to make assumptions when it comes to important issues in God’s Word. When anything significant changed we were always told. The Ten Commandments are the only thing that God personally added to the Bible. There is no way in this universe that God would not unmistakably tell us in His Word if He were to alter the Ten Commandments by even the smallest amount. Now for that one verse assumption that some use to argue that the Sabbath was changed to Sunday. In Acts 20:7 we find a religious meeting on the first day of the week but it was not a Sunday meeting. It was after sunset, prior to midnight on the first day of the week. At that time in history the first day of the week did not start at midnight but at sunset. All Bible days begin and end at sunset. Therefore this meeting and Paul’s preaching took place on what we call Saturday night. It was not a Sunday meeting at all. Regardless of this fact anyway, breaking bread is commonly understood by the Jews as having a meal together and was not the Lord’s Supper. Note how the Good News Bible translates it “The fellowship meal.” Here are examples using the King James, Good News and the New English Bible. (Acts 20:7 King James) “And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.” (Acts 20:7 Good News Bible) “On Saturday evening we gathered together for the fellowship meal. Paul spoke to the people and kept on speaking until midnight, since he was going to leave the next day.” (Acts 20:7 New English Bible) “On the Saturday night, in our assembly for the breaking of bread, Paul, who was to leave next day, addressed them, and went on speaking until midnight.” (Acts 2:42 King James) “And they continued stedfastly in the apostles' doctrine and fellowship, and in breaking of bread, and in prayers.” (Acts 2:42 Good News Bible) “They spent their time in learning from the apostles, taking part in the fellowship, and sharing in the fellowship meals and the prayers.” The following verse shows not only that breaking of bread was having a fellowship meal but also demonstrates that this breaking of bread was done every day of the week! Therefore, even if it was the Lord’s Supper, which it is not, it was done every day of the week making the argument of the Saturday night meeting irrelevant anyway. (Acts 2:46 King James) “And they, continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness and singleness of heart,” (Acts 2:46 Good News Bible) “Day after day they met as a group in the Temple, and they had their meals together in their homes, eating with glad and humble hearts,” Sunday keeping in Corinth? In 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 Paul wrote: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come...whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.” Please carefully notice what the apostle said, and also, what he did not say. Many have assumed that a religious meeting was held and a collection plate passed. This is not the case. Paul was writing special appeals to the churches in Asia Minor, because many of the Christians in Jerusalem were suffering greatly for lack of food and daily necessities. Paul asked the church at Corinth to gather food, clothing, etc., and store it up at home until he could send men to transport it to Jerusalem. The expression “lay by him in store” in the original Greek gives the clear connotation of putting aside at home. Even Sunday advocates agree to this. There was no service held on the first day of the week. The gathering up and storing was to be done on that day. Why did Paul suggest that this work be done on Sunday, and what was involved in getting it done? First of all, the letter would have been shared with the church on the Sabbath when they were all gathered for worship. The first opportunity to do the work would be the next day - the first day of the week. Keep in mind that there was an apparent food shortage in Jerusalem, and the need was not primarily for money. Such famine conditions were not unusual in areas of the Middle East, as Luke reminds us in Acts 11:28-30. Paul urges them to return carnal, or material, gifts in appreciation of the spiritual truths received from them. This throws light on Paul’s counsel to the Corinthian Christians to do their work on the first day of the week, “so that there be no gatherings when I come.” Such work as gathering and storing up produce from the field would certainly not be appropriate on the Sabbath. Sunday is identified again as a day for secular activities and gives no indication of religious observance. Besides the two assumptions that are used to try and justify Sunday keeping, the Bible and history show them not to be correct. We have already seen that both Jesus and Paul kept the Sabbath and there can be no doubt that it was the seventh day Sabbath that Paul kept as he was a Jew and a Pharisee and kept it as was his custom since childhood. It has also been established by many historians and theologians holding PhD’s in their field that Matthew and Luke were written between 60 and 80 A.D. and there was never a better time for Luke to tell us of a day change but instead he states in Luke 23:56, “…And they rested on the Sabbath according to the Commandment.” Jesus also showed that the Sabbath would still be kept after the cross and speaks of no day change when He is talking to the Apostles about the destruction of the temple in about 70 A.D. Jesus says in Matthew 24:20, “And pray that your flight may not be in winter or on the Sabbath.” Read Sabbath in the New Covenant for more information on this verse and topic. World leading historians also confirm this and that the Sabbath was kept by Jews and Gentiles till about 90-120 A.D. where persecution of the Jews became so great that some Christians changed to Sunday using the justification that it was in honour of the resurrection in order to avoid persecution and death. Later you will find out how the Sabbath got changed to Sunday and was made law about 364 A.D. As a result it was early in the fourth century when Sunday was officially named the Lord’s Day. Previous Back to Contents Next Top

All trinity studies Previous Download Next EGW Quotes on Holy Spirit Who or What is the Holy Spirit? “The HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT of CHRIST, which is sent to all men to give them sufficiency,” — (E.G. White, 14MR 84.3) “We want the HOLY SPIRIT, which is JESUS CHRIST.” — (E.G. White, Lt66, April 10, 1894) “but it is the leaven of the SPIRIT of JESUS CHRIST, which is sent down from heaven, called the HOLY GHOST,” — (E.G. White, Ms36-1891) There is no mistaking that Ellen White says the HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST. What many fail to understand is that the “Spirit of Christ” can function like a person separate to Himself so it is like it is “another” person, though not a literal person of course. So we do have a heavenly Trio, but NOT a heavenly Trinity! That is twice we have just proven that Ellen White said the SPIRIT OF CHRIST is the third in the Heavenly Trio with unmistakable confirmation. But let's prove it three more times, not that it should be necessary. Ellen White also wrote in the quote, “The COMFORTER that CHRIST PROMISED TO SEND after He ascended to heaven.” The COMFORTER of course is the HOLY SPIRIT which is third in the Heavenly Trio. So whose Spirit does Ellen White say Christ sent? “We cannot be with CHRIST in person, as were His first disciples, but HE HAS SENT HIS HOLY SPIRIT to guide us into all truth, [John 16:13 quoted]” — (E.G. White, Ms30, June 18, 1900) One more time: “CHRIST came to our world, but the world could not endure His purity. He has gone to His Father, but HE HAS SENT HIS HOLY SPIRIT to REPRESENT HIM in the world till He shall come again.” — (E.G. White, Ms1, Jan 11, 1897) Thus Christ sent HIS SPIRIT. It was not Christ physically but HIS Spirit which can function like a person though is not a literal person of course. So His Spirit is like “ANOTHER” person and why she wrote Heavenly Trio! Therefore, it should also require no explanation that the Comforter is not Christ physically but His Spirit. “This refers to the omnipresence of the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, called the COMFORTER.” — (E.G. White, 14MR 179.2) So the Spirit that was sent to be our Comforter and is the third in Heavenly Trio is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST. Why would we expect anything else since she wrote: “We want the HOLY SPIRIT, which is JESUS CHRIST.” — (E.G. White, Lt66, April 10, 1894) And last, Ellen white wrote “THREE GREAT POWERS—the FATHER, THE SON, AND THE HOLY SPIRIT.” We know the Father and Son are great powers, and since Ellen White wrote the HOLY SPIRIT is the SPIRIT OF CHRIST, who do you think the third great power is? There is only one possible answer. “CHRIST has given HIS SPIRIT as a divine POWER.” — (E.G. White, RH, Nov 19, 1908) Trinitarians conclude that the third power is another being. But there is NO other POWER in you apart from CHRIST ABIDING IN YOUR HEART by His Holy Spirit in you! “There is NO POWER in you APART from CHRIST, but it is your privilege to have CHRIST ABIDING IN YOUR HEART by faith, and He can overcome sin in you,” — (E.G. White, OHC, 76.5) How easily we can be deceived if we do not let SOP explain SOP and just assume with a Trinitarian mindset as so many do. So she was not saying that there is a third god as per the satanic doctrine of the Trinity at all. NOTE: God raised the Adventist Church as non-Trinitarian. The Trinity doctrine was slowly brought into the Adventist Church long AFTER the death of Ellen White and the pioneers by a suspected Jesuit who is also a known Freemason. The idea of the Holy Spirit as another being was Satan's idea so he could get worship for his creation. The real truth is that the “Holy Spirit” is the power and presence of God and of Christ which can function independently of themselves like a third (but not a literal third) and is how “They” represent “Themselves” where they are not personally present. Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top

All trinity studies Previous Download 看中文 Next Who is the Comforter According to the Bible Who is the Comforter According to the Bible? John 14:16-28 tells us many times that the Comforter is Christ by His Spirit, but the moment Jesus says “another Comforter,” most become blind to the fact He is referring to Himself by His Spirit despite His clear words that follow. The Greek word for another is “allos,” which means another of the exact same kind and hence means another as the same kind as Christ. Jesus was present with His disciples in physical form but after His ascension He comes back in another form, that is, by His Spirit. Hence the “another” is His Spirit. Because Christ's Spirit can function independently of Himself, it is like His Spirit is “another.” And because it is His Spirit, it is “another” of the same kind. If the Comforter was someone different, then John would have used the word “heteros,” meaning another of a different kind. Easy to understand once you know. Most also fail to notice that Jesus often speaks of Himself in the third person as He has in this passage. See John 17:1-3 for one such example. Compare “heteros” with “allos” HELPS Word-studies © 1987, 2011 by Helps Ministries, Inc. G2087 héteros – another (of a different kind). 2087 /héteros (“another but distinct in kind”) stands in contrast to 243 /állos (“another of the same kind”). 2087 /héteros (“another of a different quality”) emphasizes it is qualitatively different from its counterpart (comparison). [2087 (héteros) sometimes refers to “another” of a different class group or type (as in Plato; Oxy. papyri).] G243 állos (a primitive word) – another of the same kind; another of a similar type. In v. 16 Jesus says He will send “another” Comforter but leaves no doubt as to who He meant in v. 18. In unmistakable words Jesus says “I will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” This “other Comforter” is none other than Christ Himself in another form (Spirit form). He is not seen (physically) as He was when He was here on earth. He is removed from the eye of sense, but He is still with us in Spirit. The Comforter is referred to as the Spirit of truth in v. 17, which is Christ. Ten verses earlier Jesus says, “I am the truth” (v. 6) and by His Spirit, He is the “Spirit of truth.” In v. 17 we also see that the Comforter is someone whom the world cannot receive because it does not know Him. But Christ tells His disciples that they know the Comforter for He is dwelling with them. The only one with them is Christ! In verse 19 Christ says that in a while the world seeth me no more referring to His death and resurrection, so in v. 18 and 19 Christ is saying that though He is leaving, He will not leave them Comfortless and is going to come back to them. So the disciples knew it was Christ who was going to return to them as their Comforter, but did not understand how. So Judas, not Iscariot, asks Christ how is He going to manifest Himself to them as the Comforter and not unto the world? (v. 22) How did the disciples understand “another Comforter?” Did they understand that Christ was talking about someone else? No! This Judas understood perfectly that it was Christ who was coming back to them and not someone else. Notice that his question is not “WHO” but “HOW?” So he was not wondering “who” but “how” Christ was going to manifest Himself to them as their Comforter. The answer is: by His Spirit, which is something they did not yet understand. In John 16:7 Jesus says, “Nevertheless I tell you the truth; It is expedient for you that I go away: for if I go not away, the Comforter will not come unto you; but if I depart, I will send him unto you.” So how is it that the Comforter who was yet to be sent to them was dwelling with them in John 14? In John 7:39 we find “But this spoke he of the Spirit, which they that believe on him should receive: for the Holy Ghost was not yet given; because that Jesus was not yet glorified.” If the Holy Spirit was another being as per the trinity doctrine, it would not be dependent on Christ returning to the Father and being glorified before it could be given. The Holy Spirit could not be given until Christ was glorified as this is how Christ returns as another, that is, by His Holy Spirit. John 14:23 above says “we will come unto him and make our abode with him.” That is, both the Father and the Son through the Holy Spirit. This is not a separate person of the Godhead who is being sent, it is the very life of God coming to us through His Son Jesus Christ. Who is more qualified to comfort us other than someone who has lived and suffered as one of us and knows what it is like to be tempted? How precious is it to have both the Father and Son? How many times did Jesus say that He will be our Comforter in John 14? [Parentheses are added] 1. John 14:17 “Even the Spirit of truth [Jesus is the truth and by His Spirit He is the Spirit of truth]; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knows him: but you know him; for he dwelleth with you [Christ is the only one with them], and shall be in you [by His Spirit as the Comforter].” 2. John 14:18 “I [Jesus] will not leave you comfortless: I will come to you.” 3. John 14:20 “At that day you shall know that I am in my Father, and you in me, and I in you [by His Spirit as the Comforter].” 4. John 14:21 “He that has my commandments, and keepeth them, he it is that loveth me: and he that loveth me shall be loved of my Father, and I will love him, and will manifest myself to him [by His Spirit as the Comforter].” 5. John 14:22 “Judas saith unto him, not Iscariot, Lord, how is it that you [Jesus] will manifest thyself unto us [as the Comforter], and not unto the world?” 6. John 14:23 “If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we [Jesus and His Father] will come unto him, and make our abode with him.” 7. John 14:28 “You heard me say, I [Jesus] am going away and I am coming back to you [by His Spirit as the Comforter].” Note also that the Greek word “paraklētos” is used 5 times in Scripture and refers to Christ. It is used four times in John 14:16, 26; 15:26; 16:7 and is translated as “Comforter,” and it is used once in 1 John 2:1 where it is translated as “advocate.” 1 John 2:1 “if any man sin, we have an advocate [paraklētos] (Comforter) with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous:” [Parentheses are added] Thus Jesus Christ is both our “Comforter” and “advocate.” The Comforter is not another being but Christ Himself by His Spirit. Who but Christ who has been tempted and suffered as us, and lived as one of us is more qualified to Comfort us? How blessed we are to have our Saviour in us as our Comforter! Previous All trinity studies Next Back to top