Opener: Is it possible to see into the future? What's in store for planet Earth? Crime, war, natural disasters appear too intensify with every passing day. Do they herald some approaching cataclysmic event? Could the ancient texts of scripture reveal events yet to come? Discover secrets in the Bible that will change your life as we explore the most amazing prophecies.
Pastor Nelson: Good evening, ladies and gentlemen. One of my favorite lines in all of scriptures Psalm 118, this line, "This is the day the Lord has made. Let us rejoice and be glad in it. Whereever you are tonight, I want to welcome you to what is truly- as I said a moment ago- going to be an unforgettable 24 hour period. This is our wrap of 24 hours. I can't believe it. This is night number eight. One more night and the most amazing prophecies becomes history.
That means we are ready now to sing that theme song. Have you memorized it yet? If we didn't put it on the screen, could you sing it by memory? Pastor John, come and lead us, please. Give us the Bible, we are praying as we sing together tonight. Let's all stand together as we sing our theme song Give me the Bible. Join us from wherever you are looking at this program from. Are you ready? Here we go.
[music starts]
[singing] Give me the Bible, star of gladness gleaming. To cheer the wanderer lone and tempest-tossed. No storm can hide that peaceful radiance beaming, since Jesus came to seek and save the Lost. Together. Give me the Bible holy message shining. Thy light shall guide me in the narrow way. Precept and promise, law and love combining, till night shall vanish in eternal day.
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Pastor Nelson: Amen. This morning we had a wonderful worship service with Pastor Batchelor and this wonderful gentleman played for us this morning. God chose him to be the blessing of the day but tonight, he's going to bless us again. Nestor Soriano is going to bring us before the Lord through prayer. Let's bow our heads together
Nestor Soriano: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for this evening. We thank you for the blessings of your son Jesus Christ and thank you for bringing Pastor Batchelor here. I ask that your spirit might anoint him and that he might speak words anointed by you. And now Lord, I thank you for the opportunities that you have given people across this nation and across this globe. Thank you for the doors that are open for them to watch and to learn more about your word. And most importantly, I ask that you might open the door to our hearts. Be with us this evening. That's my prayer in Jesus Christ's name. Amen.
Audience: Amen.
Pastor Nelson: You may be seated. Tonight's subject is a subject that is going to grip you right in the core of your being. Let the Spirit of Jesus teach you and be willing to respond to God's invitation to follow him. Pastor Doug is ready to give us an invitation. How about a warm welcome for our speaker for the most amazing prophecies Pastor Doug Batchelor.
Pastor Doug: Thank you Pastor Nelson. Evening friends. Good to see each of you here, both at our local locations and those who are watching on TV and at the 2,000 sites in 50 countries.
Pastor Nelson: Hallelujah, it's exciting. Last night was a great subject on baptism. Here comes a question regarding that Pastor Doug what do you think of baptizing very young children seven to 12 years of age as it's sometimes the case.
Pastor Doug: Well, it's a very important question and since the Bible does not give a specific age, then all we can do is use some reasoning and various scriptures, the Bible tells us of course a person needs to understand the gospel, they need to be taught to believe with all their heart, to repent of their sins, doesn't mean they need to be old enough to understand all of the great theology. I don't understand it all but they need to understand the main claims in the plan of salvation. Now some people use Jesus as a guideline, when he was 12 years of age, he went to the temple and he was a dedicated but I heard one minister say, "Well, if they're old enough to be lost, then they should be old enough to be saved" and at what age would that be? A matter of fact, some people because of maybe some mental handicap they never get beyond the age of a child and God will probably judge them that way.
Children mature and comprehend things not right on a birthday, isn't that right? I've discovered sometimes girls seem to understand these things a little earlier these abstract principles than boys, a little before boys. So the range is-- My wife, yes, the boys remember longer--
Pastor Nelson: A little girl said amen out there.
Pastor Doug: I think, no, no, no, but I was going to point to you there. Karen was baptized when she was nine and she felt maybe she was a little too young but it stuck, so the best thing I could say is Jesus twelve years age went to the temple, that sort of is a guideline but they need to understand the criteria we gave last night.
Pastor Nelson: That's helpful, thank you. Pastor Doug, this is from an on-site questioner. "Pastor Doug, I am a Hindu trying to understand the Christian Adventist point of view. I'm wondering if I live a righteous life and do good deeds all my life and still choose not to accept Christ as Savior, what's going to happen to me?"
Pastor Doug: Big question. Well, first let me tell you that there are going to be people in God's kingdom from all different quarters of the Earth and not everybody there has heard about Jesus and his life and ministry. Jesus said, "To whom much is given, much is required. To whom little is given, little is required". Again Christ said to the religious leaders, "If you did not know you would have no sin, but now that you see, your sin remains." So a person is judged in one capacity based on what they understand. When a person understands the gospel and that Christ is the Savior the Son of God if they reject that, it doesn't matter whether they've been raised in the church or in a Hindu country, they're on very dangerous ground. Sin is knowing to do good and not doing it and so there is no other name given among men whereby we must be saved than the name of Jesus and if anybody's in the kingdom, they're not going to be there because of Buddha or Krishna, they're going to be there because of the blood of Jesus and no disrespect intended, Mohammed did not die for the sins of the world. There's only one person whose blood covers our sins and that's Jesus.
Pastor Nelson: Does pastor Doug believe the mark of the beast is a physical mark?
Pastor Doug: Oh, good good good question. You know it's hard for me like Pastor Dwight to juggle my Bible and this microphone. So I'll do some of this from memory real quick. Deuteronomy chapter six verse four. You know that great utterance, "Here O Israel, the Lord our God is one. Thou shalt love the Lord thy God with all thy heart, all thy soul all thy mind all thy strength" and you go a couple of verses later he says, "And these words that I command you this day" chapter five Deuteronomy, he just repeated the Ten Commandments, "These words I command you this day shall be in your heart. You shall bind them for a sign upon your hand and they shall be as front lets between your eyes." Matter of fact you'll find four times in the writings of Moses he talks about the law of God being in the hand and in the forehead.
Now when you jump to revelation and it's talking about the mark of the beast, some people- and it is one of the big myths, it's one of the big fantasies that confuses people about prophecy- some people think that in the last days, the beast power is tattooing folks on the forehead or he's got this big rubber stamp with a bar code on it and all these different-- If you really read revelation, it says everybody has something in their forehead, the saved all have the seal of God. Do you think angels are going around engraving a seal in people's foreheads?
So, if you do not have the law of God in your heart and in your mind and in your hand, you will have the mark of the beast. It's that simple. It is not a physical mark in the hand means in the actions, in the mind means in the worship, in the thoughts, that's part of our study tonight.
Pastor Nelson: Here comes a question on heaven. Pastor Doug, the Bible says in Revelation 21 that I saw a new heaven and a new Earth for the first heaven and the first Earth passed away. All right, now I want to know is the new heaven and Earth going to substitute our planet or is it going to be a different planet?
Pastor Doug: Well, we believe that-- First let me explain new heaven. When I first read new heaven, I thought, "What was the matter with the old heaven?" The word heaven in the Bible it has three meanings the way the Jews used the word. The first heaven they called it was the atmosphere around the planet where the birds fly and the clouds float. The second heaven was where the heavenly bodies are meaning the Sun, the moon and the stars. Third heaven where Paul was caught up that's the dwelling place of God paradise. So when it says I saw new Heaven and new Earth, the Heavens dissolve with fervent heat, second Peter chapter three, when the Lord comes, that's the atmosphere, God is going to make a new clean atmosphere and a new planet on probably the chaotic void of what's left after the thousand years. I don't think he's going to another solar system, God had an original planet right here on this real estate, he's going to make from this real estate a new Earth.
Pastor Nelson: Hallelujah. Here's one on the character of God. Why did God destroy many people in the Old Testament times, or give the command to destroy nature even, if he's the God of Love that you've been talking about?
Pastor Doug: Well, God is the God of Love, and sometimes judgment is the loving thing to do. Sometimes, discipline is the loving thing to do. And, it is sometimes true that even the innocent suffer along with the wicked.
Someone was asking about nature, probably thinking about the flood. Not only was man cursed, but when man sinned, God said, "Nature is cursed because of your sin." Thorns and thistles came out. Man, he was to be, basically, the leader of this world, and when he sinned, the animals began to suffer. The environment, nature began to suffer. Not only did it happen with Adam, it happened again with Noah. The whole creation right now grows and travails and how does God feel about it?
The Bible says, "Man was created to be a steward of this paradise God gave him." It tells us in Revelation, "God is going to destroy those who destroyed the Earth." I do think Christians should take care of what we got, as much as we can.
Pastor Nelson: We've gotten several questions on this Millennium period. Essentially, the question is a long question, let me cut to the chase here: The devil's here, the righteous are in Heaven, where are the evil angels?
Pastor Doug: Good point. Frequently, you'll find in the Bible, when it talks about "the devil did this, the devil did that," it uses the Devil as a figurehead, but his angels are always present working through him. I'm sorry, he's working through them and they're working together.
When it says, "Satan is bound during the 1,000 years on Earth." It's Satan and his angels, and you read in Revelation 12, it says, "The dragon was cast out. He drew one third of the stars with him." Those angels were cast out with him. So, the angels and Lucifer are bound during the 1,000 years.
Pastor Nelson: Pastor Doug, your seminar yesterday, about the return of Elijah, said that, "Before getting baptized, we have to learn and know about Jesus' teaching." But Matthew 28 suggests that the baptism comes first? That person may need some correction.
Pastor Doug: The Bible tells us Matthew 28, "Go ye therefore teach", that's first, "All nations, baptizing them and teaching them." There's teaching before, and there's teaching after. You don't stop learning after you're baptized.
But, even when the Ethiopian eunuch was baptized, Phillip was studying with him before they were baptized. They were studying the scrolls of the prophet Isaiah. So, there must be teaching before, so a person knows what the commitment is, and there's more teaching afterward, to be discipled.
We're talking about a very important subject, from prophesies in the Bible, dealing with Babylon, Bowing to Babylon is the title for our study tonight. I have an amazing fact: All over the world, virtually every nation, has a day with 24 hours, don't have much choice. That's how long it takes the planet to rotate on its axis one time. Even in the Bible, Jesus said, "Are there not 12 hours in the day?"
All around the world, even various civilizations, they all had a month. Their year was divided up into months that were approximately 27 to 30 days, because that's the lunar cycle, that's where we get the word "month" from "moon." Of course around the world most of them had a solar calendar that measured out a year, that had somewhere between 355 and 365 days, because that's how long they could see, from studying the heavens, it took the Earth to make a complete circuit around the sun.
But, here's a question: All over the world, we have a seven day week. What in the sun or moon or stars, what in astronomy would give us a seven day week? There is nothing. The only place our world, that all recognizes the seven day week, can trace it to, is Genesis chapter 1.
And yet, what's interesting, is even when many of the settlers came across the Atlantic, and began to meet the native groups in North America, had a seven day week. Where does it come from? Now, I think you'll find it very interesting how this ties into prophecy.
Revelation chapter 13. You all know that chapter. That's the one that talks about the "mark of the beast", the number 666. It tells us there, "He was granted power," this is the beast power, "To give breath to the image of the beast. That the image of the beast should both cause as many as would not worship the image of the beast, to be killed." This is the second beast, telling those who do not worship the first beast, that if they don't worship, they'll be killed.
At one point, it says, "They can't buy or sell." Some have wondered is this economic sanctions. If they don't worship, the way they're told, they'll be killed. You can't hardly read Revelation 13, if you know your Bible, without seeing shadows and echos of Daniel chatpter 3.
You remember when we studied Daniel chapter 2, King Nebuchadnezzar had that dream of the metallic image, what was he told about the head of gold? Daniel said, "You," meaning Nebuchadnezzar and Babylon, "You are the head of gold." That really flattered his ego, but it troubled him as the prophecy continued, because Daniel said, "But after you another kingdom shall arise, inferior to yours."
He didn't want there to be another kingdom, he wanted Babylon to last forever. It was inscribed in virtually every brick in Ancient Babylon. He'd worked so hard to build it up, he didn't want to see it fall into someone else's hands or be replaced. And that troubled him.
Many scholars surmise that Nebuchadnezzar thought to himself, "If that head of gold represents Babylon, what if I make an image, a great image like the one I saw in my dream, except, make it all gold. Maybe, I can somehow change the prophecy of the gods and frustrate that prophecy so that Babylon will last forever."
His advisers wanting to flatter him said, "Good plan." So, Nebuchadnezzar did that. You can read this in the prophecy there, of Daniel chapter 3 verse 1. Nebuchadnezzar the King made an image of gold, whose height was 60 cubits and its width was six cubits, and he set it up in the plain of Dura in the province of Babylon.
Before I go any farther those numbers ought to jump out: 60 cubits by six cubits. A Bible teacher from this campus years ago taught me something. He said in Hebrew if it tells you the height and the width, if it doesn't tell you the depth, it's usually the same as the width.
Like, if you look in Exodus chapter 30, when it describes the Altar of Incense, it is two cubits high and one cubit wide and one cubit deep. Meaning, that image that Nebuchadnezzar built was 60 by six by six. That sound familiar? And they're all told to ,"Bow down," to that image or be killed. Does that sound like Revelation to you?
He's saying, "Worship, the way I tell you to worship or die." He goes on and made a decree, Daniel chapter 3 verse 6, "Who ever doesn't fall down and worship, the same hour shall be cast into the midst of a burning fiery furnace."
Well, there was one little problem. Among the great leaders of his empire that he invited to the inauguration of this new image, and this "worship", were three very loyal Hebrews. You remember Hananiah, Mishael, Azariah, sometimes known as Shadrach, Meshach, and Abednego, those were their Babylonian names. When the music played and they were told they were supposed to bow down they did not bow down, why? Why?
Because one of the Ten Commandments says, "You shall not make unto you any graven images. You shall not bow down yourself to them nor serve them. For I the Lord your God am a jealous God, visiting the antiquity of the fathers upon the children under the third and fourth generation of those who hate me, but showing mercy to unto thousands of them that love me and keep my commandments."
It was one of the Ten Commandments and they said, "No." Oh, but their friends probably elbowed them, "We know that you're Jews and you normally would not do this, but just once or you'll die. God will understand, just once. Tie your shoe. Just when the music plays, and everyone bows down, "Oh, look my sandals" and just, you know, just don't cause a fuss."
[laughter]
I know a lot of people that would reason that way, "Oh, just break it this once." I mean, you'll loose your job, you'll loose your life, not in that order. What do they do? They said, "We're not even going to look like we're bowing down. We're not going to give the devil this victory, we're standing up."
Daniel chapter 3 verse 18, they're brought before Nebuchadnezzar, and he says, "Look, maybe I don't want to loose you guys, I'll give you another chance. Maybe you didn't hear the music. I'll play it again." They said, "Nebuchadnezzar, we're not going to worship your image." They went on to say, "Be it known, unto the oh King, that we will not serve thy gods. We just obey our God. Nor worship the golden image which you have set up. We're just not going to do it. We don't need a second and a third chance." They were decisive about what they believed. Then it says, "Nebuchadnezzar in a rage they ruined this inaugural party. These men were cast into the midst of the burning fiery furnace". I don't think they were afraid because these young men have read scrolls of Isaiah and Isaiah 43 said, "When you go through the midst of fire, I will be with Thee".
They knew their Bibles and they were thrown into the fire. Nebuchadnezzar, the king, said, he looked into the furnace, "So hot. If you think the fire wasn't hot, it wasn't like these coals that some people walk across. It was so hot, the soldiers who threw them in were slammed by the heat of it". And Nebuchadnezzar said, "Didn't we throw three men down the end of the midst of the fire? I see four men not bound anymore 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".
When they went through the trial for their faith, who went through it with them?
Audience: Jesus.
Pastor Doug: You will be tried for your obedience but you will not be alone. We will be tested if we decide to follow Christ. This story ought to give us courage in the last days and if that's not enough for you, go to Daniel, chapter 6. Very similar. King Darius makes a law that everybody should worship a certain way for 30 days or go to the lions then. And Daniel says, "I'm not going to hide my devotions to God". He opens his window, prays out loud. He goes to the lions then, he says, "I'm going to obey God rather than men. I'm going obey God rather than government". Daniel goes to the lions then. Does God protect him? Yes, He does.
Will we be faced with a similar test in the last days, choosing whether to obey the commandments of God or the commandments of the beast? And it had to do with worship. It all had to do with worship. Look with me, Prophecy of Revelation, chapter 14, one of the great prophecies in the Bible. "I saw another angel flying in the midst of heaven, having the everlasting gospel to preach unto them", this is verse 6, "That dwell on the Earth and to every nation and kindred, and tongue, and people, saying with loud voice, "Fear God and give glory to him for the hour of his judgement is come and", say that word with me, "Worship him that made the heaven and the earth, and the sea, and the fountains of water". Here it is calling us to worship the Creator.
Why does God deserve our worship? Because He is the maker and we are the makie. He is the Creator, we are the creation.
Now, God has something in his law that talks to us about worship. Are you aware of that? It's one of his commandments. It's the longest of the 10 Commandments. It's in the middle of his law, and the amazing thing about this presentation is, the truth about this subject is so clear and irrefutable that it is absolutely astonishing that this hope has been perpetrated on so many dear people.
It's the subject of the Sabbath [unintelligible 00:23:13] because the whole Sabbath commandment revolves around worship. You notice there in Revelation 14, it said, "Worship Him that made the heavens, and the earth, and the sea". That's drawn from Exodus 20, the fourth commandment about the Sabbath.
Haven't we been learning that Revelation? There are shadows in Revelation. It's a kaleidoscope of all these other passages in the Bible. It's all about worship.
At the very beginning of the Bible, Adam and Eve have two boys, Cain and Abel. They both build altars ostensibly to the same God. One worships the way God said, Abel, Cain does it his own way. He gets upset because God accepts Abel but He doesn't accept Cain's man made worship. Cain kills Abel. Fast forward to the end of the Bible. Two groups again, both worshiping, claiming to worship the same God. One is really worshiping the beast. The one who worships the beast is trying to kill the one who worships God.
Things haven't changed, have they? The devil wants our worship. God wants our worship. We must choose. That's one thing the devil cannot force you to do and God will not force you.
Now, as we talk about this subject of the Sabbath. The reason we're presenting this is because in the last days, there is a movement to get back to the teachings of the Bible, amen? What is a christian? A follower of Christ. Let's find out what Jesus did. Question number one. On what day did Jesus customarily worship? The Bible tells us right there in Luke chapter 4 verse 16, "And He, Jesus, came to Nazareth where he had been brought up and as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day and he stood up to read". What's a custom? Something you do once or twice, or it's a habit, it's a pattern? His custom was to go to church, the synagogue is the church, on the Sabbath, worship God, read the Bible. It was a custom for Him.
Number two. You say, "I have no problem with that, Pastor Doug, but what day is the Bible Sabbath?" Go to Genesis chapter 2 verse 2, "And on the seventh day, God ended his work which he had made and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it". Now, it jumps out at me that the first time anything is mentioned three times in the Bible, it's the Sabbath. God is the Father, the Son, the Holy Spirit and that's why the angels say, "Holy, holy, holy". Here in Genesis, it says, "The seventh day, the seventh day, the seventh day".
Now, I know you may think this is caveman theology but it works for me. Here in the right beginning it says, "Seven, seven, seven". Then you go to Revelation and the beast says, "Six, six, six". I know where I want lo land, I want the seven, seven, seven, don't you?
Audience: Yes.
Pastor Doug: You don't want the six, six, six. One is talking about worshiping the Creator, because he is the Creator, the other one is worshiping the beast.
Now, what day of the week is the Sabbath day? If you go to any normal dictionary, you'll find that it says, "Saturday is the seventh day of the week". The encyclopedia will tell you that. As a matter of fact in over 105 languages of the world, the word, no matter what the religion of the country is, the word for Saturday is "Sabbath day". Some friends here speak Spanish, I know. Being translated into Spanish, the word for Saturday is "sábado". Do we have any Russian friends here? Speak Russian? Seventh day is "subota". Even in Arabic, where they keep Friday as their Sabbath, the word for Saturday is Sabbath day. 105 languages of the world, it's got an interesting history.
"But Pastor Doug, hasn't the calendar been changed so we don't really know?" The calendar has been changed many times, that's one of the famous myths that you hear, "Oh, can't tell what day is the Sabbath". People never have a problem with what day of the week it is until they hear the Sabbath truth. The fact is that if you don't know what day the Sabbath is, you don't know what day Sunday is either, right? But you can know. No change of the calendar ever affects that.
The Sabbath in the calendar, the weekly cycle, even though you see them on the same calendar on the wall, they're two completely independent measurements of time. No matter what you do to the calendar, it doesn't change the one, two, three, four, five, six, seven, one, two, three, four, five, six, seven. That's why your birthday is a different day of the month, I'm sorry [laughs]. Your birthday is a different day of the week every year, right?
Somebody wrote the US Naval Observatory about this question and this is a copy of the letter that came back. They said, "We've had occasion to investigate the results of the works of specialists in chronology and we have never found one of them that ever had the slightest doubt about the continuity of the weekly cycle since long before the Christian era. There has been no change in the calendar that has ever affected the continuity of the weekly cycle. Pope Gregory made a change back in, I think, 1582. Thursday October 5th was followed by Friday October 15th. No, no, Thursday October 4th was followed by Friday October 15th. They added 10 days. It changed the calendar, did it change the week? No, it doesn't affect the week.
There's no question about what day of the week is the seventh day, and you know for me what the slam dunk is for me on this? You got a whole Jewish nation all over the world. Do they know what day the seventh day of the week is? And yes, you might persuade me to think that some Jewish family got shipped right on Gilligan's Island and forgot the days of the week. But the whole nation? No. It's always been what we commonly call Saturday today, there's more evidence for this later.
Number three. Who made the Sabbath day and when? Genesis chapter 2 verse 1 and verse 3, "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished and all the host of them. And God blessed the seventh day". God did it way back in the beginning, in Creation. How many Jews were in the world back then? How many people in the world? Two. What were their names?
Audience: Adam and Eve.
Pastor Doug: This is a test. How many here are related to them?
Audience: [laughter]
Pastor Doug: Everybody. By the way, you're all related to Noah too. That's why Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man back in the Garden of Eden. The Lord came walking in the cool of the day looking for Adam and Eve. This day was a special day for their communion together. He created it as a blessing to man. Was there sin in the world when God created the Sabbath? Was it part of his perfect plan? That there's nothing that He needed to change. God, in the very beginning, made the institutions of marriage. Do we still have marriage? Is that still part of God's plan? By the way, what did God make for man in the Garden of Eden? He made woman and He made the Sabbath day. Do we still need women?
[laughter]
Do we still need the Sabbath day? Part of His perfect plan. You know it's also true God made things during Creation in order of their complexity. The last thing He made was a woman.
[laughter]
That's true. The data is in. In the Garden of Eden, this was the time for fellowship with the Creator.
Number four. What does God say about Sabbath keeping in the 10 Commandments? Which he wrote with His own finger, I might add. Exodus 20 verse 8. Oh, by the way, it's not the 10 recommendations and not the 10 good ideas. It's the 10 Commandments. "Remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy, the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." Now notice, God on the Sabbath day, He rested, He blessed and He sanctified the seventh day.
This is something that just came to me today. Think about this, I was telling Pastor Dwight about this back in the office. If you were to pick a holy spot on planet Earth what geography would you pick? Israel, I heard someone say. I agree. Let's suppose there's a holy land that is what? It's Israel. In the holy land you got the holy city. What that? Jerusalem. In the holy city they got the holy mount. Do you know about that? Mount Zion, Mount Moriah, same place. On the holy mountain they got the holy temple. In the holy temple they got the holy place.
Then you go further and you got the Holy of Holies. In the Holy of Holies, there is a holy ark of the covenant. You still with me? What's in the ark of the covenant? 10 Commandments, the holy law.
One time, the word holy appears in the 10 commandments. It's in the middle of the law, it's the longest of the 10 Commandments, it's the one that begins with the word remember and it's the Sabbath commandment, and yet it is one that is largely being neglected by professed Christians the world over.
Does God care? He cared enough to speak it with His voice and write it with His finger in the presence of a whole nation. Jesus said, "If you love me, keep my commandments". Some people say, "Well, but that wasn't -- They weren't really expected to keep the Sabbath as a Sabbath day until they got to mount Sinai". Wrong, Bible doesn't teach that. For instance, when the children of Israel first came out of Egypt, before they get to mount Sinai, God rains manna down from heaven. You remember that experience? Moses said, "Eat that today for today is a Sabbath". They gathered twice as much on Friday. "For today is a Sabbath unto the Lord. Today you shall not find it in the field."
God worked a miracle the whole time they were in the wilderness where he rained manna down from heaven. Six days a week, they get twice as much on Friday and he would not rain manna on the Sabbath. Now, that's in Exodus chapter 16. He's telling them that the Sabbath is his commandment. He uses that phrase and his law before they get to mount Sinai. Yes, the children of Israel had forgotten about it or had been neglected.
Number 5. Pastor Doug, that's the old testament. Have the 10 Commandments been changed or altered in some way? You know that's what prophecy tells us the beast would think to do. Remember we studied the antichrist, Daniel chapter 7 verse 25. One of his characteristics was he would think to change times and laws. When I look at the 10 Commandments I can only find one commandment that is both a law and a time. It's the Sabbath. It's important to God. Proverbs 30 verse 5 and 6, "Every word of God is pure. Add thou not onto His words lest He reprove thee and thou be found a liar." We are not to add to or take away from His words.
Then you can also read in Hebrews 4:9, this is New Testament. There remains, therefore a rest to the people of God, and that word rest there, if you take it from its Greek translation, is "sabatismos", and that means, the keeping of a Sabbath. This is the new testament, one of the final books in the new testament. It says the remains of keeping of the Sabbath for the people of God. Oh, somebody is going to say, "Well Pastor Doug, now that we're Christians we keep the spirit of the law, not the letter. You're being legalistic to tell people they got to keep the letter of the law". Remember we talked about that a little bit?
How can you say you're going to keep the spirit of the law and ignore the letter? The letter is the foundation for the spirit. If you say, "I'm going to keep the spirit of the law that says thou shall not commit adultery" which means you don't look upon the opposite sex to think it in your heart, that's right. That's the spirit of it. But how do you keep the spirit of the law and say I'm going to commit the act of adultery then I'm not going to break the spirit? Or I'm not going to break the spirit of the law, "Thou shall not kill", Jesus said. The law says, "Don't kill, but I say to you, "Whoever is angry with his brother without cause is guilty of murder". That's the spirit of the law, but if you're not going to break the spirit of the law, don't be angry with your brother without cause. How do you keep that and still break the letter? So if you're going to keep the spirit of the law, Jesus said, "Come unto me and I'll give you rest". That's the spirit of the law. I believe it. Amen.
Audience: Amen.
Pastor Doug: The Sabbath is the very starting point for that experience of rest. Do we still need a day of rest?
Audience: Yes.
Pastor Doug: Do we need a day of worship? Corporate worship -- Some people say, "Oh, Pastor Doug, I'm a new testament Christian. I worship God seven days a week. You only worship Him one day a week". The Bible tells us that we should, I believe, worship God always but in the commandment, it says we are not to work. If a person says that they are keeping the Sabbath seven days a week, they're not holy, they're lazy.
[laughter]
We're supposed to only keep that day, one day a week. Not secular work, but reserve that day only for holy time with God.
Some are saying, "Now that we're under grace, grace blocks out the law. We're not under the law anymore, we're now under grace". I don't get that either. That's sort of like you get pulled over by a policeman because you're driving too fast and you start to cry. It works, I've done it.
[laughter]
She didn't give me a ticket.
[laughter]
It's true. Yes, I never told you about that. I told you to learn new things. Got pulled over by a lady policeman, I started to tear up and she let me go. Suppose they do show you mercy, what do you do say, "Praise the Lord, I'm not under the law now because they've had mercy on me, so I can drive as fast as I want". No, when you're forgiven because of being under the law and the crux of the law for our sins, when you're forgiven for your sins, Christians are the most careful to obey the law. We're not given a license to disobey.
Number 6. Did the apostles keep the Sabbath? Yes. Paul, as his manner was, he went unto them three Sabbath days and he reasoned with them out of the scriptures. This is Acts 17 verse 2. You can jump to Acts 18 verse 4. He reasoned in the synagogue every Sabbath and persuaded both Jews and Greeks. Greeks meaning Gentiles non-Jews. Why would you think that Jesus would say, "Speaking of the last days, pray that your flight be not in the winter neither on the Sabbath day". Christ, looking down the course of time, seeing His people on the last days, told them we should pray that we wouldn't have to flee on the Sabbath day. If they're not keeping the Sabbath anymore, why would Jesus say that?
Number seven. Did the Gentiles also worship on the Sabbath day? New Testament, yes. Acts chapter 13 verse 42. By the way, this is written by a Gentile. When the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the Gentiles besaw, these words might be preached to them the next Sabbath day. That's still the seventh day of the week. That's Sunday. It goes on to say in Mark chapter 2 verse 27, "And he said unto them, the Sabbath was made for man and not man for the Sabbath." The Sabbath is meant to be a blessing for mankind.
Now one of the big struggles Jesus had during His earthly ministry is the religious leaders in His time had become very legalistic about the Sabbath. Disciples are walking through the field, they're hungry. They pick out some grain out of the field and they're eating it. The Pharisee said, "You're harvesting on the Sabbath then you're carrying a burden". They had all these man-made laws and Christ did have to contend with that. But never ever does Jesus say, "Sabbath doesn't matter anymore".
Matter of fact it was so important to Christ and His disciples understood this. That after He had died on the cross, they did not even finish embalming his body because the Sabbath had come. They waited until after the Sabbath and came back. If they had ever gotten the notion from Jesus that the Sabbath was not intact. Matter of fact Christ said, "Think not that I've come to destroy the law. Don't think that", Isaiah chapter 56, is it also for the Gentiles? A prophecy in the old testament.
Also the sons of the stranger that joined themselves to the Lord to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, and to be His servants. Everyone that keeps the Sabbath from polluting it and taking whole of my covenant, He will make them joyful in his house of prayer. The sons of the stranger. Those who chose to worship Jehovah, they didn't pick their own new Sabbath day. They kept the Sabbath day the God picked.
Pastor Doug: God picked. The one he gave Adam and Eve, the one he gave in the Ten Commandments, the one that Jesus kept, it's always been the same. Do we still need physical rest? Man, I tell you we're living in a society today, there is a whole litany of diseases now that have been connected with stress and fatigue ranging from heart disease, high blood pressure, ulcers. One of the top selling medications in North America deals with ulcers.
Sleep aids. People are stressed and they don't sleep. A lot of it is because people have forgotten about God's time of rest, and he blessed the day. It's said right there in the commandment. "I've sanctified it. I've blessed it. I've made it holy." God even rested that day. We're made in His image. If God rested that day, are we better than Him? So it is important to the Lord. It's important for our health.
Number eight. Was the Sabbath changed to Sunday at Christ's resurrection? How many of you have heard that before? That somewhere, someone said, "But it was changed." You don't find that anywhere in the Bible. That in fact, if we read in the Bible, Luke 23:54. I'll read all the way through Luke 24:1 with probably periodic interruptions. "And that day was the preparation, Friday, and the Sabbath -- on the day Jesus died on the cross is commonly called Good Friday. Okay?
Now, before I get to the rest of Luke, I wanted to interject a couple slides here. When does the Sabbath begin? Just so you know Jesus died right about sundown. It says in Leviticus 23:32, "From even unto even even," Even meaning evening, sundown. "You shall celebrate your Sabbath." If that's not enough, read Mark 1:32 "And at even when the sun did set." So the Sabbath begins and ends at sunset.
For those of us in this time zone, is it Sabbath now? It is. The sun has set. We are in holy time Shalom. Shalom Shabbat. This is the Sabbath time. Sacred hours, not just for Jews, but for all that follow the God of the Bible. Let's return back to Luke Chapter 23. So, Friday sundown. It says, "They returned and prepared spices and ointments, and they rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Now, this is the Gospel of Luke.
Is Luke a Jew or a Gentile? What a good opportunity Luke missed to say they rested according to the Jewish Sabbath, the Jewish law. He doesn't. He says, "The commandment." So there's no question about it. By the way, how many of you know that they've changed the speed limit in Michigan? You're now allowed to drive 90 miles an hour on the interstate.
[laughter]
I'm just wondering, does anyone out there believe me? After all our time together, you don't believe me? You know why you don't believe me? How many of you believe other things I say? Come on, we're getting our audience shot. You know why you didn't believe the last ridiculous statement, it's because you know that if a nation is going to change a law that is so prominent, that affects so many people, that they have to clearly advertise it. It'd be everywhere. They'd give a lot of lead up to it.
If God is going to change one of the Ten Commandments, if God is going to tell you to forget the one commandment that begins with the word "remember," don't you think it would be all through the New Testament? Look at the debate in the New Testament on circumcision. It's mentioned everywhere. But the Sabbath, you don't find that argument. Why? Because he didn't change it. It was understood that they were to still keep the Ten Commandments.
The tragedy is that virtually all Christian ministers also still taught the Ten Commandments until about 8000 years ago. They began to shift away from it. I've got good tapes of Billy Graham talking about the Ten Commandments going marching right through them including the fourth commandment, unapologetic about it.
Now, on the first day of the week, back to Luke again, "they came early into the sepulchre." Let's just do a quick review so you have this in your mind. What day of the week did Jesus die on the cross?
Congregation: Friday.
Pastor: Friday. By the way, friends, Jesus completed his work in saving the human race Friday afternoon. He said, "It is finished." He gave up his spirit. He then kept the Sabbath even in his death and he rose Sunday morning. It meant so much to Jesus, He rested from his work of saving the human race on the Sabbath day. He didn't rise Sunday morning to inaugurate a new day. He rose to go back to work as our high priest in heaven.
Congregation: Amen.
Pastor: It's just mind boggling to me that people -- it's just a mystery that so many people missed this. Then back to our little graph here, died on Friday. Jesus kept the Sabbath, Saturday, rested in the tomb on that day. He rose Sunday morning, what we would call the first day of the week. That's why people celebrate Easter world over on the first day of the week. No one contends that Jesus rose the first day.
You know what it says in the Bible? "He rose after the Sabbath was passed." That means, it was still the Sabbath. It just was over for that night. Some said, "It was over for--" They try and build something spiritual in there that's just not in there, that that meant now the Sabbath was over for Christians and we're to keep a new day. Well, that's just absolutely abstract creative nonsense. It doesn't say that.
If that was true, then why do they keep the Sabbath later on in the New Testament and the Book of Acts? Will the Sabbath be kept in heaven? Well, let's just do a little review. When I first learned these things, I was angry, because I felt like I've been deceived. Keep in mind, I was going to church on Sunday and I'm Jewish. I'd read in the Bible about the Sabbath, I thought that shouldn't have been the seventh day and yet if the whole thing was just going in one ear and out the other and finally when I saw what was going on I thought, "How did I miss it? How could I have been fooled?"
One of the things that convinced me that the seventh day of the week is the Sabbath, is I didn't really want to believe that. I was looking for scripture. All I needed was one scripture that said Sunday is the new Sabbath day. I would have been happy. Matter of fact, what convinced me was my pastors. I went to a number of Sunday churches then. I had a few different fellowships. I couldn't get enough of Christianity.
I go to one church for their prayer meeting, I'd go to another church Sunday, I go to another church Sunday night. I went to all my pastors and I said, "Why do we go to church Sunday?" I was eager to find a good Bible answer. I just wanted to follow Christ in his word. They all gave me different answers. One of them said, "Because Jesus rose the first day of the week, it's the new Christian Sabbath."
I said, "Okay, great. Where's the scripture that says that? He said, "Well, there's really no scripture that says that, but we've got a long standing tradition." I went to another one and he said, "We're not under the law anymore. We're now under grace." I said, "You mean we don't need to keep the Ten Commandments?" But we keep the spirit of the law. What does that mean? What are we supposed to tell our kids? To keep the spirit of the law. You're not supposed to steal your brother's toys. Just keep the spirit of the law. That won't go very far.
I went to another pastor. I said, "Why do we go to church on Sunday?" He said, "Back in the days of Joshua, he prayed the sun stood still. Saturday turned into Sunday."
[laughter]
I said, "That's creative." But it didn't make any sense because for another thousand years, they still kept it on Saturday. Matter of fact, I was doing a seminar one time like this, and a minister from another church was coming because he was worried his members were coming and believing what they heard.
He stood up angry, veins standing out on his forehead. He said, "Pastor Doug," he knew me because it was a small town. I was a pastor there. He said, "You're putting these people under a bondage of law." I said, "Brother, do you believe God wants us to keep the Ten Commandments or not?" He said, "No." His members went [gasps]. He caught that and he said, "Yes." Then he realized, that would include the Sabbath. He said, "Nine of them." So I said, "So you're telling me the one commandment we're supposed to forget is the only one that begins with the word remember." By the way, I said, "I'm not putting them under works. I'm telling them to rest. You're telling them not to rest, you're putting them under works."
[laughter]
It just didn't make any sense to me. Now, back to our slide. There's a history. Do we see Adam keeping the Sabbath back in the Garden of Eden? Did God have it as part of the plan? If God rested and he makes Adam in his image, Adam rested too, Amen?
Congregation: Amen.
Pastor: Did the children of Israel keep it through the wilderness in the Old Testament? Did Jesus and the Apostles keep it?
Congregation: Amen.
Pastor: You know it's exciting is, we're going to keep it in glory. Isaiah 66:22-23 "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I will make shall remain before me." We're talking about in the future. "It shall come to pass that from one Sabbath--" it goes on to say from one new moon to another and one Sabbath to another "-shall all flesh." Does it say all Jews? "All flesh come to--" Do what? What's that word again? Worship. What is this all about? If we don't know who we worship, we're going to be deceived in the last days.
It's all about worship. All flesh will come and worship before me. I've got news for your friends. If you want to worship before him there on the Sabbath, then we need to start doing it here now. Get in the habit. It's all about worshiping Jesus. You know what, when Jesus preaches on that Sabbath day in heaven, nobody's going to sleep during the sermon, Amen? He'll be the minister.
Number ten. Some have said that may be it isn't the resurrection, but the New Testament doesn't call Sunday the Lord's day. It does say in Revelation 1:10. John says, “I was in the spirit on the Lord's day." It never calls the first day or Sunday the Lord's day. A matter of fact, if you go through the Bible and try to identify what day is the Lord's day, you have two options: One is the second coming, is called The Day of the Lord. The other option is the Sabbath. Exodus 20:10. It tells us there “But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, not the Jews, the Lord, your God. It's the Lord's day.
Again, Isaiah 58:13. If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure. Turning away your foot means stop shredding on something holy. Remember, they take their shoes off because of holy ground. When we trample on something with our shoes on, it's desecrating something holy, and there are a lot of dear Christians out there that did not know what they're hearing now and God has accepted and blessed your worship, because he's winked at our ignorance. Acts Chapter 17. We didn't know.
There'll be a lot of people in heaven that went to church on Sunday, Amen? Millions of them, because they didn't know. King David will be there and he had too many wives. But we know better than that today, don't we? He winked. God winked at their ignorance. Now that we see he commands men everywhere to repent, and some have been desecrating God's holy time and missing the blessing that He has.
Again, Mark 2:28. Jesus said, “Therefore, the son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." So what day is the Lord's day?
Congregation: Saturday.
Pastor: Saturday. The Sabbath days the Lord's day. Pastor Doug, you're making a big deal out of this one little commandment. Did God make a big deal out of it?
Congregation: Yes.
Pastor: When he speaks audibly in the hearing of a whole nation, and he etches it with his own finger, arc welding it in stone, signifying the permanency, the eternal nature of it, does it matter to God?
Number 11. Some say, "Well, we keep Sunday to honor the resurrection." I've heard that and I think we should do something to honor Christ in the resurrection. What does God give us in the Bible to do that? Romans 6:4. He does have an institution for the resurrection. It's not a new Sabbath day, there is nothing wrong with the old one. Roman 6:4, “Therefore, we are buried with him through baptism into death just as Christ was raised or resurrected from the dead by the glory of the Father even so. We should walk in a newness of life." So what did the Lord give us? What institution did he give us through honor his resurrection?
Congregation: Baptism.
Pastor: Baptism. We've talked about that with this group and I'm hoping that some here are still praying about that decision. Some who are watching, I hope that you'll make your decision to follow Christ.
Number 12. Well, if Sunday keeping isn't in the Bible, where did it come from? Matthew 15:9, Jesus said, “In vain, they worship Me--" Are there some who worship him in vain? What about those who worship the beast thinking that they're worshiping God? Will they be worshiping Jesus in vain? I'll go back to the verse. I'll read it. Trust me, “In vain, they worship me, teaching as doctrines the commandments--" of who?
Congregation: Of men.
Pastor: Of men. This is from the Encyclopedia Britannica. That is not written by my church, in case you're wondering. The earliest recognition of the observance of Sunday is a constitution of Constantine in 321 AD enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday. It was a Roman day of rest. It comes from paganism. That's where we get the word Sunday. It was connected with Sun worship, had nothing to do with the son of God worship. It had to do with solar worship.
Gradually, the Christians in Rome began to give up the seventh day and to embrace the day of the Romans. True Christians were persecuted. The Jews were very unpopular they called them Judaizers, because they still kept the same day the Jews kept.
Now, if you have any other doubts, this is right from Stephen [unintelligible 00:54:38] Catechism. It’s a Catholic catechism. I didn't write this. If you want to study to be a good Catholic -- how many of you were Catholics at some point in your life and you remember the catechisms? The only hands out there, remember that? Our question. Which day 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. Again Stephen [unintelligible 00:55:10] Catechism. I forgot to put the reference on the screen.
This is actually from 1995. It's an article that was in a magazine of a Catholic district. “Perhaps the boldest thing, the most revolutionary change the church ever did happened in the first century--" It’s not actually first century, it’s the third century. "The holy day, the Sabbath, was changed from Saturday to Sunday not from any directions noted in the scriptures, the Bible, but from the church's sense of its own power." Keep reading. "People who think that the scripture should be the sole authority should logically become Seventh Day Adventist and keep Saturday holy." Bless their hearts. Thank you very much St. Catherine's for that article. I want to be a Bible Christian, how about you, friends?
Congregation: Amen.
Pastor: Number 13. Isn't it very dangerous to tamper with God's law? There was one priest who just touched the ark, they were not even supposed to touch it because anyone who was touching it, there could be a risk that they would harm or change or altered in some way. They couldn't even touch it. Uzzah reached out and touched the ark and he dropped dead because God didn't want anyone changing his law. Matthew 5:19. Jesus said, “Whosoever therefore shall break one of the least of these commandments and teach men so, he shall be called least in the kingdom of heaven, but whosoever shall do and teach them--" That's what we're trying to do at this seminar. "The same will be called great in the kingdom of heaven."
In other words, Jesus is saying, you look over the Ten Commandments and you find out whichever one you think is the least important, and if you were to even try and change the least, you'll be spoken of in heaven as the least. It doesn’t mean you'll be there. Some people think that means you're just going to have a low position in heaven but you'll still be there, No. Those in heaven refer to you as the lowest kind of person who tries to change God's law. Nothing wrong with the law. The law doesn't need changing. We need changing. That's why Jesus came. Save us from our sins, which is transgression of the law.
Number 14. Why did God make the Sabbath anyway? It says in Ezekiel 20:12, “I gave them my Sabbath to be a sign between me and them that they might know that I am the Lord that sanctifies them. I'm the one who makes them Holy." See, God made that day holy and every holy Sabbath Day, we remember that if he could make a day holy, he could make us holy. Not only that, it's a day that reminds us of creation. Every Sabbath day, we realize if he could create all things, he can recreate me.
I'll tell you why the devil hates this subject. Stay with me. I’m fight the clock. I wish I could pray like Joshua. The sun would stand still right now, but then people would think that we've changed the Sabbath.
[laughter]
Salvation is all about loving God. It's about loving Jesus. All love relationships are developed in the crucible of time. It's time. God wants to have quality time with us. One of the principal things that Karen talks to me about. I'm so busy. She says, “Doug, we need time together.” She doesn't just mean that we happen to be in the same house, because I'm often in the office working on sermons. She's not talking about that kind of time. She's talking about time where you’re interacting, you're meshing, you're communicating. Quality time. Getting to know each other.
God wants a relationship with you not just to have you say, "Yes, you're God," and then go your merry way. He wants an ongoing relationship with you and it takes time. Because of the cares of life, we can get so busy. God, to protect that love relationship says, “I have set aside holy time. It's a day I'm going to be there. I'm resting that day. I blessed that day. I want you there with me.” It's all about love. The devil hates that. So you're going to find even those who claim to be Christians, fighting the Sabbath truth. By the way, there's a website that I recommend. It's very simple. Sabbathtruth.com. A lot of information there. We can't cover everything in this seminar. You might jot that down. It's simple. Sabbathtruth.com. I think you can even go to sabbathtruth.org. It’s just lots of resources on the history of the Sabbath.
Number 15. How important is Sabbath keeping? James 2:10. He tells us, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend one point, he is guilty of all." Pastor Doug, you are telling me that if I keep 90% of the Ten Commandments perfectly, just because I break the Sabbath because I go a different day, God is going to punish me for that? Well, it's like somebody is standing before a judge, they're guilty of murder. That's one of the Ten Commandments, by the way, thou shall not kill. They say, "Well look, your honor, I realize, I did murder one person, but I kept all the other laws of the land perfectly, you should just wink at this one." Any judge going to buy that? What is the penalty for sin? Death. Is the Sabbath one of the commandments?
Congregation: Yes.
Pastor: Might I submit to you that the penalty is the same as the other nine. God means what he says. You notice he doesn't say remember a Sabbath day to keep it holy? He says remember the Sabbath day. The seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord, he is very definite about it, Amen? Jesus said, John 13:7, "If you know these things, happy are ye if you do them." God isn't calling the Sabbath day a day of cursing, it's a day of blessing. That's why we're sharing these things with you friends, we want you to have that blessing. Now, I know what some of you are thinking now. I remember when I first learned this. It meant a change in my work schedule. Some people say, "Hey, I might lose my job."
Shadrach, Meschach, and Abednego, they realized if they didn't obey then king's law, they'd lose their jobs and their lives. Might I submit to you in the last days, God is looking for people that trust Him enough to step out in faith and He will through the furnace with them. They'll be more blessed in the latter end than in the beginning. I lost jobs because I wouldn't work on the God's holy Sabbath and he gave me better jobs. He'll test you. I can promise you. Whenever you take up your cross to follow Jesus, there will be trials, there will be tests. "Prove me," God says, "Test me." see if He is still on the throne friends, I promise you He is.
Number 16. How does God feel about religious leaders who ignore the Sabbath day? Ezekiel 22:26 and 31, I'm reading the Bible, don't get upset with me. "Her priests have violated my law and profaned my holy things. They put no difference between the holy and the profane. They've hid their eyes from my Sabbaths." That's why Jesus said, "Why do you call me Lord Lord and you do not the things that I say?" Jesus says if you're going to call me Lord Lord, then worship me the way and the day that I say. He's God.
What would happen to the church anyway if everybody picked their own Sabbath day? Say, "I'll see you in church next Sabbath." "When is that?" "Well, I go Thursday, when do you go?"
[laughter]
One more thought. Sometimes people would say, "Pastor Doug, you're downplaying the importance of the resurrection. That's when everything is -- it was so important, that's what made it a new Sabbath day." What day of the week did Jesus institute the new covenant? Last supper, Thursday night. How important was that? What day did he die for our sins? Friday. He said it is finished Friday, that would've been a good day to switch it to. That's the day the Muslims keep. I mean, if you are going to change it. Jesus did a lot of important things, a lot of different days, but he never said that made it new Sabbath day.
Number 17. Does Sabbath keeping really affect me personally? Yes, it does. Jesus says in Matthew 11:28, "Come unto me all you that labor and are heavy laden," and I will do what?
Congregation: Give you rest.
Pastor: "I'll give you rest." It's all about worship friends. Again Hebrews 4:5, "They will enter into my rest." In the last days, remember when we studied Revelations chapter 12 about that woman? The dragon is especially infuriated with the woman, Revelation 12:17, "And the seed of the woman who keep the commandments of God and have the testimony of Jesus Christ." That's Revelations chapter 12. Revelations chapter 14, "Here are those that keep the commandments of God and have the faith of Jesus." Revelations chapter 22, last chapter of the Bible, "Blessed are those that keep his commandments, that they might have a right to enter through the gates of the city and eat from the tree of life."
It's in prophecy friends. It's talking over and over through Daniel in Revelation about who do we worship. How can we study that subject and not talk about the Sabbath? Let me turn you to a prophecy. I see a miracle of miracles. God made the time stand still, I got a few seconds. Turn to Isaiah chapter 58. I want to read this to you. This is the prophecy about the last days. Verse 12, "Those who are from you shall build up the old ways places," that which was broken down will be built up. "You will raise up the foundation of many generations," something that's been there many generations. The foundation is still there but it's being built up again. "You'll be called the repairer of the breach," a bridge has been made in God's law, in his wall. It's going to be repaired. "And the restorer of paths that dwell in," A path where God's people used to walk has been lost, has been grown over, but it's going to be cleaned out again. Now, listen to what he identifies after he talks about this great revival and restoration of truth. "If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pressure on My holy day," it's not the day of the Jews. "And call the Sabbath the delight." Friends, it's a blessing. It's a delight. The holy day of the Lord, not of the Jews. Honorable, and shall honor him, not doing your own ways or finding your own pleasure.
You know why we all get into trouble? Isaiah says, "All we, like sheep, went our own way, doing our own thing." One of the things that happens every Sabbath day is we are telling God, "You're God, you're the creator, you're the redeemer, we worship you." Every Sabbath, we're saying "You're in charge, you're on the throne of my heart." Sometimes, it's easier for people to say, "Lord, I don't have a problem giving you money, but I don't have time." "Time is the stuff life is made of." That's not the Bible, that's Ben Franklin, but it's a good quote. "Time is the stuff that life is made of."
My father, millions of dollars. I had almost no relationship with my father because he never had time. Yes, he'd buy us toys and junk. We had boats, skis, yachts, cars and all the junk, but I never had any time. You know what I wanted? I wanted time with him. God loves you infinitely more than any earthly parent loves their children, or a spouse loves their spouse, or children love their parents, and He says, "I want time with you. I know the devil wants to distract you, that's why I wrote it in my law. In the middle of my law, I said remember to keep it holy"
You noticed, it says keep it holy. Keeping it holy means it implies it's already holy. I've had some nice people during the seminar say, "Pastor Doug, we're praying to God to keep you holy." I said, " You're assuming not." Or they say, "We're praying that God will keep you humble." I said, "You are assuming I am humble then, and that he'll keep me humble." I said, "I'm not so sure I am humble." But when God says, "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." What God is saying is it is holy, I want you to keep it the way it is.
Congregation: Amen.
Pastor: He's inviting you to do that today. He's brought you to this seminar, he's had you find this frequency, he's brought you to your venue. You're watching because God wants to bless you with a blessed day. Would you like to receive that blessing?
Congregation: Yes.
Pastor: Last question. Question number 18. Are you willing to follow Jesus' command and his example of Sabbath keeping? A christian is a follower of Christ, it was his custom. This is a very important subject because now, we're not talking about intellectual ascent. When people hear this prophetic message, they go, "Wow. That's not just about what I believe about this or what I believe that, it's about my time, my life." We would be doing you a disservice if we didn't call you to a biblical commitment of your heart to worship God, Amen?