The Bible tells us that at the end of this present age and in the ages to come, true believers will be keeping the commandments of God. How could this be possible if the commandments were abolished at Calvary?
Revelation 12: | 17: “And the dragon was wroth with the woman, and went to make war with the remnant of her seed, which keep the commandments of God, and have the testimony of Jesus Christ.”
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Revelation 22: | 13: “I am Alpha and Omega, the beginning and the end, the first and the last. 14: Blessed are they that do his commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the city. 15: For without are dogs, and sorcerers, and whoremongers, and murderers, and idolaters, and whosoever loveth and maketh a lie.” |
Incidentally, laws are not abolished by obedience or disobedience. Consult any solicitor or member of parliament if you have any doubts about this legal fundamental. Christians who speak and write against the law of the Most High are unwittingly furthering the cause of Satan the Lawless One. They are adding to the enormous catalogue of sin of which the world and the church is already guilty: for when they teach that God's law is done away with, they encourage the spiritually blind to persist in their sins. For further information about Yahweh's commandments, see the Divine Law Page.
Ephesians 2: | 7: “That in the ages to come He (the Almighty) will shew the exceeding riches of His grace in His kindness towards us through Jesus Christ.” |
Furthermore we know that Yahweh’s grace towards mankind was evident in past ages:
Genesis 6: 8 | “Noah found grace in the eyes of the LORD.”
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Exodus 33: 13-16 | “Moses found grace in the LORD’s sight.”
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Jeremiah 31: 2 | “Israel found grace in the wilderness.” |
Indeed “He (Yahweh) giveth grace unto the lowly” no matter what age they may happen to live in. (Proverbs 3: 34) The Almighty's grace, we conclude, is not just a new covenant feature, but the age-old outcome of a personal trait of the Most High which immediately manifested itself when man sinned and salvation became necessary. Did you know that the word grace appears 39 times in the Old Testament alone! Yahweh's grace, in other words, has been extended to all His followers since Adam sinned in the garden of Eden. Indeed, every time an Old Testament believer offered an animal sacrifice for sin, he was pardoned by the grace of God.
What, then, is the relationship between grace and law? And what does it mean to be under grace? Briefly here are the facts concerning this misunderstood matter.
Sin, as stated above, is the transgression of Yahweh's law. Sin is doing what the Almighty tells us not to do. Sin is breaking Yahweh's commandments. Sin is disobedience, and all of us have sinned. (1 John 3:4, Isa. 53:6)
To be "under grace" means to be a recipient of Yahweh's mercy, grace and favour; to have one's sins forgiven and to be no longer under the death sentence of the law. That is what being "under grace" means.
The answer is perfectly obvious: we must stop doing these things. Indeed it was for doing these very things that we came to be under the death sentence of the law in the first place. Being "under grace" if anything should prompt a person to be more obedient, more righteous and more holy than he ever was. Being "under grace" does not mean that you are at liberty to break the law of the Most High. For if you continue to do so, you are being disobedient; and disobedience is sin. That is exactly the point the Apostle Paul makes when he asks:
Romans 6:15 | What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace?
Paul's answer is: |
Romans 6:16 | God forbid! Know ye not that to whom ye yield yourselves servants to obey, his servants ye are whom ye obey; whether of sin unto death, or of obedience unto righteousness? |
Romans 6:16 | "His servants ye are whom ye obey." |
Romans 14: | 5: “One man esteemeth one day above another: another esteemeth every day alike. Let every man be fully persuaded in his own mind. 6: He that regardeth the day, regardeth it unto the Lord: and he that regardeth not the day, to the Lord he doth not regard it...” |
Verse: | 10: “...for we shall all stand before the judgment seat of Christ.” |
The points being made in this passage are:
Colossians 2: | 16: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat and drink, or in respect of a holy day, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath days; 17: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.” |
And why does Paul mention meat, drink, Sabbath days and new moons in the same verse? The answer is, because “meat, drink, new moons, and Sabbath days” are “shadows,” “tokens” or “emblem types” of great spiritual realities still to come. And though they are extremely beneficial when properly understood and applied, they are of little practical value to the Christian who spends his/her energies and time criticizing others.
Having said this, however, it would be very unwise for a believer to conclude that since these things are “shadows” or “spiritual tokens” - they are, therefore, of little account and that Paul is here giving all Christians a free pass to ignore Yahweh's Sabbath law.
That is most certainly NOT what Paul is saying. Indeed when we examine the Apostle's other writings - and take a close look at his own actions - we notice that he went to great lengths to honour the Almighty's Sabbaths and to prove to the brethren in Jerusalem that the reports about him teaching believers to forsake the law and old customs were simply not true, because the fact was that he (Paul) walked in an “orderly way and kept the law.” (Acts 21: 20-24, Acts 20: 16)
What, then, does this passage mean? It means exactly what it is saying. Just like that passage in Romans it concerns a believer's mental attitude towards himself and others. In Romans 14 Paul says “do not judge others, but allow them to make up their own minds as regards to their diet and the days they honour.” In Colossians 2 he says “Do not allow others to judge you”. In neither passage is the identity of the true Sabbath day discussed.
Galatians 4: | 9: “But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the week and beggarly elements, where unto ye desire again to be in bondage. 10: Ye observe days, months, and times and years.” |
Had he been writing to converted Jews, who had kept the Almighty's Feasts since childhood, then we could allow that the “days, months, seasons and years” of verse 10 may well have meant Jehovah's Feasts and that these pagan converts were wanting to go back to celebrating them. But Paul is not here writing to Jewish believers, he is writing to Gentile converts from Paganism; and the only celebrations to which they could possibly go back, were the heathen festivals they had previously known; festivals which were directly linked to the beggarly elements mentioned above.
Also bear in mind that Paul honoured Yahweh's Feasts. (Acts 18: 21, Acts 20: 16, 1 Corinthians 16: 8) It is therefore unthinkable that he would refer to the Almighty's Feasts as “weak and beggarly elements” in one instance and then strive desperately to keep them in the next. Paul' s verdict in (Romans 7: 12) concerning the commandments of God was:
There is nothing “beggarly” about the worship of the Almighty God of Abraham. That much is certain.
Ephesians 2: | 15: “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances for to make himself of twain one new man, so making peace. 16: And that he may reconcile both unto God in the one body by the cross, having slain the enmity thereof.” |
There lies hidden within the human heart a deadly element known as sin.
At the epicentre of sin - which is disobedience to Yahweh's law - is a spiritual
ingredient called enmity. Enmity is hostility. In every carnal mind this
sinful element called enmity or hostility towards the Almighty exits,
and it finds expression in acts of disobedience. (sin) Elsewhere Paul says:
Romans 8: | 7: “The carnal (non-spiritual) mind is enmity against God; for it is not subject to the law of God, neither indeed can be.” |
If you read (Ephesians 2: 15-16) again, you will see that it was this inherent enmity in the carnal mind that the Saviour came to abolish. He didn't come to abolish the law (Matthew 5: 17-18) but man's enmity against God which immediately manifests itself when the Almighty's law is presented. The law, incidentally, is incapable of subduing the sinful nature of man. The law can only point the way to righteousness. It can only tell us what is right and what is wrong. Perfect and eternal though it is, the law is unable to subdue the hostility the carnal mind has for the LORD God.
Romans 8: | 3: “For what the law could not do, in that it was weak through the flesh, God sending his own Son in the likeness of sinful flesh, and for sin, condemned sin in the flesh: 4: That the righteousness of the law might be fulfilled in us, who walk not after the flesh, but after the Spirit.” |
Did you get that?
Yahweh, being fully aware that His law was totally incapable of overcoming man's
sinful nature, sent His Son to subdue, overcome and deprive sin of its power over
the human mind. In other words the Almighty sent His Son to slay the root cause
of sin - which is enmity towards God and towards each other. This enmity goes
beyond man's hatred for God and His law. It expresses it in hatred between
Jew and Gentile, black and white, rich and
poor, educated and ignorant, the haves and the
have-nots in nation after nation. The Saviour alone has the power
to overcome this enmity between the races and to make of different nations
one people - one man.
And why did the Saviour come to slay our inherent enmity against God and our fellow men?
The answer is:
“In order that the righteousness of Yahweh’s Law might be fulfilled in us,
who walk not after the flesh but after the Spirit.”
(Romans 8: 4)
If the reader is an honest seeker after the truth he/she will immediately recognize that the Apostle Paul is not introducing strange and contradictory teachings in these passages; but is in complete harmony with all other inspired writers from Genesis to Revelation. What he is doing in these passages is highlighting some extremely important but little understood truths:
Here is how we know this fact. In (Exodus 16: 14-30) we read of how the Almighty fed Israel with manna. By the following three miracles - performed every week - Yahweh made known His Sabbath day to the whole nation.
We can be certain that it was again identified when the Messiah observed it, for just prior to his death on Calvary the Saviour categorically stated that he had kept his father's commandments. (John 15: 10) He could hardly have said this if the day that he had been keeping for some thirty three years was the wrong one. Besides, if he had kept the wrong day he would have been a ‘sinner’ and that would have disqualified him from being our Saviour.
We are, therefore, certain that the Saviour kept the correct seventh day Sabbath.
Soon after the capture of Jerusalem in AD70 the diaspora took place. The diaspora is the scattering of the body of Jews to lands other than their own. Initially the exiles had fled to the surrounding countries of Egypt, Syria and Phoenicia, but in the course of time, as persecution mounted, the Jews went further and further afield and today you will find Jewish communities in every country on the face of the earth.
With them the Jews took the Holy Scriptures and their knowledge of the true Sabbath day. Every seventh day since then orthodox Jews all over the world have remembered the seventh day.
And what do we find in this 21th century? We find the Jews still keeping the original seventh day Sabbath, the same day they knew at the time of the diaspora, which was the same day Jesus kept.
There is absolutely no disagreement or dispute amongst the Jews - scattered as they still are - as to which day is the seventh day of the week. Every synagogue in every country is in perfect agreement that Saturday is the seventh day.
Had there been any change of the day, any loss or gain of time, any deliberate or accidental slip or alteration in the weekly cycle - which would have resulted in the Jews in one country observing a different weekly Sabbath from Jewish believers in the next - then we would readily agree that the identity of the seventh day of the week was in doubt. But we do not find that situation anywhere on earth. Instead we have in total agreement amongst all the Jews of all nations that the day known throughout the world as Saturday is the seventh day of the week.
Those who use this argument are misinformed. Here are the facts of history: In the year 1582 the Julian calendar (named after the Emperor Julius Caesar) was found to be 10 days late when compared with the position of the sun. That is, the vernal equinox was not occurring on or about March 20/21 - as it should do in a correct solar calendar - but was gradually receding towards the beginning of March. The reason for this error was that the Julian calendar worked on the basis that a year was 365¼ days in length, whereas in truth it is about 11 minutes more than that. Over the centuries this 11 minute discrepancy accumulated causing the Julian calendar to steadily recede, till by the sixteenth century it had lost 10 days and the equinox was occurring on March 11th.
To correct this discrepancy Pope Gregory XIII ordered that 10 days be added to the Julian calendar dates to bring them into line with the sun. The month of October was chosen for the amendment and in the calendar of 1582 that month appeared as follows:
OCTOBER 1582 | ||||||
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SUN | MON | TUE | WED | THU | FRI | SAT |
1 | 2 | 3 | 4 | 15 | 16 | |
17 | 18 | 19 | 20 | 21 | 22 | 23 |
24 | 25 | 26 | 27 | 28 | 29 | 30 |
31 |
This amendment understandably, was not very popular in some countries mainly because it had been organized by a Roman Catholic Pope. Several Protestant countries refused to acknowledge it and continued to use the Julian calendar; but one by one they came into line. Here is a short list of when they did:
Germany (Catholic States) | 1583 |
Germany (Protestant States) | 1700 |
Netherlands | 1700 |
England | 1752 |
Rumania, Turkey and Russia | 1919 |
All those years between 1582 and 1919 while both calendars were in use, the sequence of the days in the weekly cycle was the same in every country. In other words Sunday in Rome in 1900 was also Sunday in Russia in that year even though both countries were using a different calendar. And as each nation adopted the Georgian calendar it simply added 10 days to its Georgian Calendar date. There was no need to change the order of the days of the week, because they already agreed.
The Sabbath day in other words is a day that Yahweh set apart for sacred use. He wants us to remember that fact and to keep the day holy - set apart - for sacred use. How is it done? What is involved? What does one do or not do on the Sabbath?
Without attempting to pontificate on so deep a matter, and certainly with no intention of judging another believer's performance, we offer these brief guidelines about Sabbath observance with a prayer to the Almighty that He will use them to fulfil in every reader the spiritual potential latent in him or her.
If you remember the Sabbath is Yahweh's holy day (the portion of time that He set apart for His work) and if you rest from your own labours and interests and devote yourself to His service, then you will be on the glorious path of Sabbath observance. And what's more, you will be blessed in this world and the next in direct fulfilment of this amazing promise:
Isaiah 58: | 13: “If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him, not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words: 14: Then shalt thou delight thyself in the LORD; and I will cause thee to ride upon the high places of the earth, and feed thee with the heritage of Jacob thy father: for the mouth of the LORD hath spoken it.” |
Without allowing a Feast to deteriorate into a show of gluttony, try to ensure that an extra special meal is served on the Feast day. In this way you will declare your faith in Yahweh's breathtaking Programme of Salvation which He has made possible through His Son, and prove your desire to partake of the real spiritual banquets that He has prepared for those who serve Him.
Yahweh has made many promises to the believer who is willing to observe His Feasts. Space does not allow us to print them all, but I will end this article with this beautiful millennial picture of multitudes of true believers keeping the Feasts of the Almighty in a Jerusalem purged of sin.
Ezekiel 36: | 33: “Thus saith the Lord GOD; In the day that I shall have cleansed you from ALL your iniquities I will also cause you to dwell in the cities, and the wastes shall be builded. 34: And the desolate land shall be tilled, whereas it lay desolate in the sight of all that passed by. 35: And they shall say, This land that was desolate is become like the Garden of Eden; and the waste and desolate and ruined cities are become fenced, and are inhabited. 36: Then the heathen that are left round about you shall know that I the LORD build the ruined places, and plant that that was desolate: I the LORD have spoken it, and I will do it. 37: Thus saith the Lord GOD; I will yet for this be enquired of by the house of Israel, to do it for them; I will increase them with men like a flock. 38: As the holy flock, as the flock of Jerusalem in her solemn feasts; so shall the waste cities be filled with flocks of men: and they shall know that I am the LORD.” |