If You Had Lived in the Time of Christ
Would you have believed Him... turned against Him...
checked up on Him... or just walk on by... which?
If He came today... Would you know Him?...
Don't be so sure... Here is the test for you to know for sure...

Just for the moment, SUPPOSE - suppose you were living in Jerusalem when Jesus Christ was teaching there.
You are walking along with a friend. You come upon a small group. Standing in the center a man is talking, answering questions. He is Jesus of Nazareth. You and your friend find yourselves stopped.

Do you know WHY?

But what would have caused you to stop with this little group - do you know? The reason probably is not what you think. You may suppose that it was the overawing appearance of Christ that would have stopped you. But notice what happens next.

Two men come walking by. It is an unusual coincidence, because one is deaf, and he is leading a man who is blind. The deaf man notices the little group standing, sees the man Jesus in the midst talking to them, is completely unimpressed, continues walking on by. But suddenly the blind man tugs at his arm, stops, pulls the deaf man back. He wants to listen.

Nothing the deaf man saw caused him to stop. But what the blind man heard arrested his attention, surprised and shocked him.

And what about you and your friend?

Your friend at your side is suddenly astonished, angered and resentful. You find yourself caught with mingled feelings of surprise, curiosity and shock.

But it was nothing in Jesus’ appearance that would have startled you!

When Jesus returned to the town of His youth, the people of Nazareth were astonished, just like other people. But not because of anything out of the ordinary about His looks. To them He looked just like an ordinary local boy now grown to manhood. The people of Nazareth mocked Him - jeered at Him. Yet they were astonished, angered, even as you would have been.

Put in today’s expressive language, this is approximately what they said: "Now where does he get that stuff? Who does he think he is, anyway? The very idea! An ordinary local man like he is, saying such ridiculous things! Why, he grew up here! We know him.

He’s only the son of that carpenter who lives down the street. We know his mother, Mary. We know his brothers and sisters. They’re all just common, ordinary folks like we are. Who does he think he is, saying things like that?" (compare with Matthew 13:54-58). Yes, what Jesus said aroused carnal surprise, indignation and anger in the people of Nazareth. You will notice, in verse 54 of Matthew 13, they were astonished - not at His appearance - not at anything unusual in His voice - but at what He said! He wore no halo over His head!

Why would YOU be astonished?

Had you lived in that time and at that place, you, too, probably would have been astonished when you stopped to join this little group. The REASON is very important to you now!

Had you lived then, you would have been born knowing nothing at birth, even as you were born in our day, knowing nothing. Your mother would have fed you, cared for you, taught you as you grew up, even as mothers do today.

You would have been taught and reared in the concepts, beliefs, ways and customs of that time and place, even as you actually have been reared in the ways and concepts of this day in your country.

Yes, and you would automatically have taken for granted, without question, the beliefs, teachings and ways of life of that people and time - just as today you have grown up assuming, as perfectly natural, the general way of life and general beliefs of this time.

Whatever society accepts and does seems perfectly natural. It becomes part of one’s life - indeed, it is one’s life! It was the same in the time of Christ.

What would you have done?

Had you lived then and chanced to walk by this little group, and your ear had caught a few of the words from the lips of Jesus, you, too, in all probability, would have been astonished!

You would have heard this very ordinary-looking man from Nazareth making positive, dogmatic statements totally at variance with the concepts and beliefs you had always heard, been taught and taken for granted. You would have heard Him expounding the Scriptures in a manner absolutely contradictory to what you had been brought up to believe. You would have heard things utterly different from what everybody believed.

Certainly it would have sounded like fanaticism!

And here is the strange paradox: In spite of yourself, what you would have heard Him say would have sounded quite logical and plausible - it would seem, somehow, to ring true - you would find yourself half admitting that it made sense!

Perhaps that is the very reason your friend would have become suddenly angry and resentful. Down deep, he would recognize that this man from Nazareth was speaking the TRUTH! Down deep, he would be forced to the half realization that he had been absolutely wrong! Nothing wounds human vanity quite so much as being told one is wrong! And when one really senses it is true - when one simply cannot refute this emphatic correction - it is humiliating, indeed.

SURELY, you would reason, all these religious denominations, recognized by the society of your country, so highly esteemed, could not be wrong! Surely the people of your whole nation could not be wrong!

And yet - what Jesus said did seem reasonable, even though it hit you at first as being some strange new and fanatical religion. You probably would have found your head swimming. You would have felt all mixed up.

You would have found yourself unable to answer Jesus’ sayings, or to show anyone where He was wrong. Indeed you would not have been able to convince yourself that He was wrong. Yet everything within you would have rebelled against believing He could be right.

Could this man speaking these unheard-of things be a real prophet, bringing truth? Or was he just a clever false prophet after the money or a following?

What would you have done?

Would you have said to yourself: "I know what I’ll do - I’ll check up on this man from Nazareth. I’ll go to the chief ministers of the big, reputable, established denominations. They have standing. I’ll ask them whether he is properly explaining and expounding the Scriptures."

Would you have done this - or would you have simply gone to the sacred Scriptures direct, yourself, and searched through the Scriptures with open mind, - without prejudice, yet cautiously, to PROVE all things, deciding to believe what you found there with your own eyes?

There is a TEST given later in this article by which you can test yourself to know what you would have done.

How they would have answered

Had you gone to the officials or top men of the larger recognized and established religious denominations, do you realize what they would have answered?

They would have done everything in their power to discredit Jesus. They would have assured you He was a false prophet, even as they did accuse to those who did listen to Him. They would have warned you against Him.

For they - the very highest ministers of the most reputable established denominations - the CHIEF priests - were the very ones who not only sought to discredit Jesus and turn people against Him - they are the very ones who plotted and conspired to MURDER Him!

Finally, as more and more of the people began to believe what Christ was preaching (John 7:3 1), "the Pharisees and the chief priests sent officers to take Him" (verse 32).

Many people began to believe Jesus - others did not. "So there was a division among the people because of Him" (verse 43). Then the officers returned to the chief priests, who said to the officers, "Why have you not brought Him?" (verse 45).

"The officers answered, ‘No man ever spoke like this Man’" (verse 46). That was precisely WHY the chief priests were trying to discredit and even to murder Jesus. See how they answered:

"Then the Pharisees answered them, ‘Are you also deceived? Have any of the rulers or the Pharisees believed in Him?’ (verses 47-48).

These CHIEF ministers of the BIG established and reputed denominations said Jesus, the very Christ, was a false prophet. They asked, Have any of the leaders of recognized, established religious groups believed Him? The argument was, If these reputable and important MEN did not believe Him, then you shouldn’t!

Yet it was these very same religious leaders of the big, reputable denominations who conspired, and paid Judas 30 pieces of silver to turn traitor and betray Jesus. It was they who stirred up the crowd against Jesus, to demand that He be put to death, when He stood before Pilate. It was they who jeered at Him, mocked Him, caused Him to be MURDERED!

And HE was the Son of GOD! HE was the true MESSIAH! He was your SAVIOR!

What you SHOULD DO!

Would you, had you lived there and then, have gone to the big religious organizations and asked whether Jesus spoke the truth?

What a terrible, tragic mistake you would have made, had you done that!

Or would you have done as the Bereans were commended for doing when they heard the apostIe Paul? Paul, too, came speaking the same Gospel as Jesus. He, too, preached a message altogether different from the beliefs and customs of the time. These Bereans did not just gullibly swallow whatever Paul said without checking.

How could THEY know? Possibly this Paul was a false prophet. But they did not go to the chief preachers or the big, established denominations. THEY WENT DIRECTLY TO THE SCRIPTURES!

Yes, they checked up on Paul! But they went to the RIGHT PLACE to check up! They did not go to MEN, who could easily have partisan interests to protect. They did not go to Paul’s critics or opponents. THEY WENT TO GOD! They knew the Scriptures were God’s WORD! They received Paul’s word without prejudice for or against - with open mind - yet they checked up - they PROVED all things - they "searched the Scriptures daily to find out whether these things were so" (Acts 17:11).

And that is precisely what YOU should do, today!

But, had you lived in Jesus’ day, what WOULD you have done? There is a TEST that will tell you.

Today you hear an astonishing broadcast, The World Tomorrow, on radio and television! On it, I CLAIM to be preaching the very same identical Gospel Jesus preached. I literally preach THE BIBLE. I expound it, as Jesus did.

And today, even as then, THE PEOPLE ARE ASTONISHED! What I preach, right out of the Bible, is just as different from what YOU have been brought up to believe today as Jesus’ teachings were different from what people then believed!

And it is the same today. The message catches the interest of people. The ratings of listener interest are unbelievably high. Millions are listening. They are astonished, surprised, often shocked. Somehow, down deep, it does seem to ring true! It does seem to MAKE SENSE!

But it is SO DIFFERENT from what many have been brought up to believe. Surely this couldn’t be right? — and yet, listeners by the thousands begin to realize they can’t refute it!

One woman who claimed to be an atheist listened awhile. Then she shrugged her shoulders. "I can’t refute what he says, but I’m just not interested."

A nationally known artist chanced to listen to one program. He was a skeptic - an agnostic. He was a little upset, because what he heard was so logical - seemed to make so much sense - he could not refute it. Yet it was the opposite of what he thought he believed.

"I’ll listen again," he said. "Next time I’ll have the satisfaction of being able to answer his statements."

But next time he was more confused than ever. He could not resist listening. It was a challenge. He wanted to be able to refute the truth to his own personal satisfaction. But he couldn’t! Finally he searched the Scriptures. He was more astonished than ever! With his own eyes he saw that the BIBLE does not say what he supposed it said! It made sense. It punctured and deflated his vanity to have to acknowledge he had been wrong. After six months he did.

He repented of what he was, what he had thought, what he had done. He accepted Jesus Christ as Savior. He was baptized. His whole life became changed! That was many years ago.

What OUGHT you to do? Remember that on The World Tomorrow and in The Plain Truth and The Good News we say, "DON’T BELIEVE US - don’t believe MEN - check up in your BIBLE - believe what you see with your own eyes there!" That’s what you should do!

If you go to men

But today, as in the time of Christ or of Paul, if you go to men - or to religious denominations - and put your trust in MEN, do you know what they will tell you?

Yes, that’s right! Just as those teaching things different from Jesus’ teaching in that day accused HIM of being a false prophet, so it is TODAY! Any who are teaching things different from CHRIST’S OWN GOSPEL, heard on The World Tomorrow and appearing in The Plain Truth and The Good News, will naturally disagree, oppose this true message, probably accuse us, today, of being false prophets.

They may even attempt to discredit - to impute evil and diabolical motives - to accuse of dishonesty - to try to assassinate character. Possibly they will malign, impugn, use every psychological trick to set up PREJUDICE, so that you won’t listen or check up, for yourself in your own Bible!

They will not say to you: "Go and look in your own Bible, for yourself, and see WHETHER these things be so. Just take him at his own word - check up in your own Bible for yourself." No, they will not answer you that way.

Stop and think! IF any religious person does not teach the same GOSPEL of the SAME CHRIST that we teach right out of the Bible, he cannot endorse us or what we proclaim! IF HE DID THEN HE WOULD HAVE TO PREACH THE SAME TRUTH, ALSO!

NOWHERE does your Bible tell you to RELY on MEN. Don’t go to MEN to learn whether we preach the TRUTH! Unless they accept it, too, they cannot endorse it! Your Bible tells you NOT TO PUT YOUR TRUST IN MEN (Ps. 146:3). So we say, DON’T put your trust in US - or in any man or men. Don’t believe it because WE say so. Check up, in your own Bible, for yourself. BELIEVE YOUR BIBLE! BELIEVE GOD, not man!

What some are saying

We do not want to discredit anyone. We do not need to refute the errors of others. We merely point you to the very Word of the living GOD. But we can tell you, now, what some few are saying.

A very small printed bulletin was sent to us some little time ago, warning people against Christ’s own Gospel, which we preach, calling it "religious rubbish." Of course, such expressions are designed to discredit and set up prejudice.

Then followed the false accusation that we preach "a religion of works for salvation." All who listen regularly or read the magazines know we preach nothing of the kind!

Reports have come that some here or there have claimed, falsely, that I have been a Seventh-day Adventist, a Jehovah’s Witness and many other such things. I have been - before conversion - a Quaker and a Methodist. But I have never, directly or indirectly, in any form, shape or manner, had any affiliation, association or connection with ANY other denominations. Incidentally, the TRUE Church that Christ established is not denominational!

We do not need the recommendations of men. We seek not their endorsement, but GOD’s. Like the apostle Paul, we need no letters of approval or commendation from MEN.

The true Gospel going to the whole world in POWER - the thousands of converted, changed lives that are the FRUITS the living Christ has produced through this Work - they are our letter of approval written in their hearts by God’s Holy Spirit (II Cor. 3:12)!

Here is the TEST!

Now back to our original question. If you had lived in the days of Jesus of Nazareth, WHAT WOULD YOU HAVE DONE?

Would you have gone to the chief priests, the scribes and Pharisees and believed them? Would you have allowed them to cause you to reject the very Savior and His TRUTH?

Again, DON’T BE TOO SURE!

There is a TEST that will tell, definitely and absolutely, what you would have done! It is a BIBLE TEST! Jesus Christ Himself gives this test. To those who then denied Him, turned against Him, rejected the very living Gospel - the message of LIFE sent by God the Father through Christ - He said, "And say, ‘If we had lived in the days of our fathers, we would not have been partakers with them in the blood of the prophets’" (Matt. 23:30).

Yet those who said "If we had lived back in that day, we would not have been a partaker in the killing of the prophets God sent" were the very ones who did partake in MURDERING THE CHIEF PROPHET OF ALL - the GREATEST minister God ever sent!

Jesus says, then, in plain language, that the test is THIS: Whatever you do today is precisely what you would have done then. They DID participate in murdering the greatest of ALL prophets! Most certainly they would have been party to killing a lesser prophet, had they lived in a previous generation.

Today Jesus Christ has raised up a WORK. It is GOD’S WORK! It is proclaiming the very same identical MESSAGE - the SAME GOSPEL - Jesus brought and proclaimed. Jesus only started this Work. Today He continues it from heaven where He directs those of HIS CHOOSING.

He said that if they persecuted HIM, they would persecute those of us whom He sends!

"You did not choose Me," said Jesus to those He was sending out with His message, "but I chose you and appointed you... If the world hates you, you know that it hated Me before it hated you... Remember the word that I said to you, ‘A servant is not greater than his master.’ If they persecuted Me, they will also persecute you. If they kept MY WORD, they will keep yours also" (John 15:16-20).

Today many listen, are astonished, then GO TO GOD by checking in the Bible. They PROVE for themselves whether these things be true. And if, seeing the TRUTH with their own eyes in their own Bibles, they BELIEVE it and follow it, then these are they who, had they lived in Jerusalem in Jesus’ day and had heard Him, would have believed and followed Him!

But if there are any today, being astonished at Christ’s Gospel, which may sound as strange as it did 1,952 years ago, WHO THEN GO TO MEN, AND TAKE THE WORD OF PARTISAN MEN about the message of Christ - THEY are the ones who, had they lived then, would have gone to the chief priests and the Pharisees - Christ’s enemies! They are the ones who would have believed these enemies instead of Christ!

They are the ones who would have rejected Christ and His message - WHO WOULD HAVE BEEN PARTY TO MURDERING THE VERY SAVIOR!

Yes, strong words, those!

But Jesus Christ Himself has given you that test! WHAT would you have done, had you lived then? Precisely what you DO, today!

If you will not hear and believe Christ’s message today, even if heard from one persecuted, defamed, warned against by some MEN (even as Christ Himself was), then you would NOT have believed Jesus Christ, nor followed Him, had you lived then! That is CHRIST’S OWN TEST! It is HIS WORD! And it is THE WORD THAT SHALL JUDGE YOU at the final judgment!

Again and again we say, DON’T believe me. Don’t follow me or any MEN. Go to YOUR BIBLE! "To the law and to the testimony! If they do not speak according to this word, it is because there is no light in them" (Isa. 8:20). The expression "the law and... the testimony" simply means the BIBLE.

But if we DO speak according to this Word, then YOU HAD BETTER BELIEVE GOD’S HOLY WORD! It is LIFE-giving knowledge! Even though some label it a "strange religion" - even though astonishing!

BELIEVE GOD’S WORD, regardless of men.

"I have written to him the great things of my law, but they were counted as a strange thing."
Hosea 8:12

What angered these people to kill Jesus...
The things you love the best.... Even today....

Let's check each one separately... And see which ones you and which ones infuriate you today...
When Jesus walked the earth the Roman Empire ruled the world... The same Roman Empire that the Roman Catholic Church was built in the image of later... Most churches today hold the same doctrines. Holy Days, and customs as do the Catholic Church...
In Jesus' time the entire world kept the Pagan customs... In other words the customs of the sun god...

First

When they heard Jesus proclaiming that he was sent by the father this infuriated the priest and leaders... The world had been taught to reverence and worship the mother... hence "Mother Nature"...
It originated in ancient Egypt in the days of King Osiris and Queen Isis, and their son Horus, about 3,000 B.C. Yes, it stems from roots whose beginning was long before the Flood!

From many ancient writings, considerable is learned of this man, who started in Egypt a great organized worldly apostasy from God that has dominated this world until now. After the untimely death of King Osiris, his wife, Isis, propagated the doctrine of the survival of Osiris as a spirit being. She claimed a full-grown evergreen tree sprang overnight from a dead tree stump, which symbolized the springing forth unto new life of the dead Osiris. On each anniversary of his birth, she claimed, Osiris would visit the evergreen tree and leave gifts upon it. December 25th was the birthday of King Osiris reborn as the son Horus. This is the real origin of the Christmas Tree

Through her scheming and designing, Isis became the "Queen of Heaven," and Osiris under various names, became the reborn "divine son of heaven." Through the generations, in this idolatrous worship, Osiris also became, among the later Phoeniceans, Baal the Sun-god. In this false system, reintroduced at Babylon, after the Flood, by Nimrod (see Genesis 10 and 11), the "Mother and Child" (Isis and Osiris reborn) became chief objects of worship. This worship of "Mother and Child" spread over the world. The names varied in different countries and languages. In Asia the worship passed under the names of Cybele and Deoius. In Rome, Fortuna and Jupiterpuer. Even in Greece, China, Japan and Tibet is to be found the counterpart of the Madonna, long before the birth of Christ!

Thus, during the fourth and fifth centuries, when the pagans of the Roman world were "accepting" the new popular "Christianity" by the hundreds of thousands, carrying their old pagan customs and beliefs along with them, merely cloaking them with Christian-sounding names, the Madonna and "Mother and Child" idea also became popularized, especially at Christmas time. Every Christmas season you'll hear sung and chanted dozens of times the hymn "Silent Night, Holy Night," with its familiar "Mother and Child" theme. We, who have been born in such a world, reared and steeped in these things all our lives, have been taught to revere these things as holy and sacred. We never questioned to see where they came from--whether they came from the Bible, or from pagan idolatry!

Are you shocked to learn the truth--some, unfortunately, take offense at the plain truth! But God commands His faithful ministers, "Cry aloud, spare not, lift up thy voice like a trumpet, and show my people their transgression!" Shocking as these facts are, they are the plain facts of history and the Bible

Everyone loves their Christmas... This is usually the one thing that angers people the most and this is where most people will stop reading and leave this website angry. This is where they say "Ah he's crazy". Or they will say I don't care what you say I keep Christmas for Christ birthday. Even though the scriptures never tell when Christ was born and even though it IS the sun god's.

Deuteronomy 12:30

Take heed to thyself that thou be not snared by following them, after that they be destroyed from before thee; and that thou enquire not after their gods, saying, How did these nations serve their gods? even so will I do likewise. 31 Thou shalt not do so unto the LORD thy God: for every abomination to the LORD, which he hateth, have they done unto their gods; for even their sons and their daughters they have burnt in the fire to their gods. 32 WHAT THING SOEVER I COMMAND YOU, OBSERVE TO DO IT: THOU SHALT NOT ADD THERETO, NOR DIMINISH FROM IT.

The origin of Christmas goes back to ancient times. It is bound up in the apostasy which has gripped a deceived world these many centuries! In Egypt, it was always believed that the husband of Isis (Egyptian name for "Queen of Heaven") was reborn as the son Horus on December 25th. Through the influence of Egypt and, later, Babylon over civilization, the nations celebrated this famous birthday over most of the known world for centuries before the birth of Christ.

December 25th is not the birthday of Jesus the true Christ! The apostles and early true Church never celebrated Christ's birthday at any time. There is no command or instruction to celebrate it in the Bible-- rather, the celebrating of birthdays is a pagan, not a Christian custom.

Thus the ancient idolatrous "Mysteries," have been handed down through the pagan religions under new Christian-sounding names.

That's the first point that made the people furious.... They loved Christmas... Does it make you furious?... Do you say I'm crazy... Do you say oh we keep if for the children? Or We keep it to celebrate the birth of Christ?

It still the Pagan Festival celebrating the sun god's birthday! Would it be alright for your wife to commit adultery as long as she said "Oh but honey I was thinking of you".... or "Oh I just do it for the children"

NO I THINK NOT!

Jeremiah 3:8

"And I saw, when for all the causes whereby backsliding Israel committed adultery I had put her away, and given her a bill of divorce; yet her treacherous sister Judah feared not, but went and played the harlot also".

GOD SAYS... Do not follow the way of the heathen..

Jeremiah 10:2

"Thus saith the LORD, Learn not the way of the heathen, ..."

He also says do not worship Him as they worship their god...

So now that you know the truth about Christmas will you reject THE PLAIN TRUTH?... Ignore it?... Are you frustrated yet ... Angry?

So I may as well tell you about another Pagan custom they celebrated that you love and enjoy today...

Easter

The Resurrection was not on Easter Sunday! Easter is not a Christian name, but the title of the idolatrous "queen of heaven." Here's an explanation of the true origin and meaning of Lent, Easter eggs, and sunrise services!

Ishtar the Pagan Goddess

What is the meaning of the name "Easter"? You have been led to suppose the word means "resurrection of Christ."

For 1600 years the Western world has been taught that Christ rose from the dead on Sunday morning. But that is merely one of the fables the Apostle Paul warned readers of the New Testament to expect. The resurrection did not occur on Sunday! (For the astonishing proof setting forth the exact time of the resurrection, see The Resurrection Was Not on Sunday

The name "Easter," which is merely the slightly changed English spelling of the name of the ancient Assyrian and Babylonian goddess Ishtar, comes to us from old Teutonic mythology where it is known as Ostern. The Phoenician name of this goddess was Astarte, consort of Baal, the sun god, whose worship is denounced by the Almighty in the Bible as the most abominable of all pagan idolatry.

Look up the word "Easter" in Webster's dictionary. You will find it clearly reveals the pagan origin of the name. In the large five-volume Hastings Dictionary of the Bible, only six brief lines are given to the name "Easter," because it occurs only once in the Bible -- and that only in the Authorized King James translation. Says Hastings: "Easter, used in Authorized Version as the translation of 'Pascha' in Acts 12:4, 'Intending after Easter to bring him forth to the people.'... Revised Standard Version has substituted correctly 'the Passover.'"

Apostles Observed the Passover

The World Almanac, 1968 edition, page 187, says: "In the second century A.D., Easter Day was, among Christians in Asia Minor [that is, in the Churches at Ephesus, Galatia, etc. -- the so called "Gentile" churches raised up by the Apostle Paul] the 14th of Nisan, the seventh month of the Jewish [civil] calendar."

In other words, the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar, and it was not then called by the name of the pagan deity "Easter," but by the Bible name "Passover." Passover, the Days of Unleavened Bread, Pentecost, and the holy days God had ordained forever were all observed by Jesus, and the early apostles, and the converted Gentile Christians (Acts 2:1; 12:3; 18:21; 20:6, 16; I Cor. 5:7- 8; 16:8).

Passover is a memorial of the crucifixion of Christ (Luke 22:19).

Passover, observed by the early true Church, occurred not on Sunday or any fixed day of the week, but on a calendar day of the year. The day of the week varies from year to year. Easter is one of the pagan days Paul warned Gentile converts they must not return to observing (Gal. 4:9-10).

Its Chaldean Origin

Easter, as Alexander Hislop says (The Two Babylons, p. 103), "bears its Chaldean origin on its very forehead. Easter is nothing else than Astarte, one of the titles of Beltis, the queen of heaven...."

The ancient gods of the pagans had many different names. While this goddess was called Astarte by the Phoenicians, it appears on Assyrian monuments found by Layard in excavations at Nineveh as Ishtar (Austen H. Layard, Nineveh and Babylon, Vol. 11, p. 629). Both were pronounced "Easter."

Likewise, Bel (referred to in the Old Testament), also was called Molech. It was for sacrificing to Molech (I Kings 11:1-11, especially verse 7. where Molech is called an abomination) and other pagan gods that the Eternal condemned Solomon, and rended away the Kingdom of Israel from his son.

In the ancient Chaldean idolatrous sun-worship, as practiced by the Phoenicians, Baal was the sun god; Astarte, his consort or wife. And Astarte is the same as Ishtar, or the English "Easter." Says Hislop:

"The festival, of which we read in Church history, under the name of Easter, in the third or fourth centuries, was quite a different festival from that now observed in the Romish [and Protestant] Church, and at that time was not known by any such name as Easter. It was called Pascha, or the Passover, and...was very early observed by many professing Christians.... That festival agreed originally with the time of the Jewish Passover, when Christ was crucified.... That festival was not idolatrous, and it was preceded by no Lent" (The Two Babylons, p. 104).

Where Did We Get Lent?

"Howbeit you should know," wrote Johannes Cassianus (John Cassian) in the fifth century, "that as long as the primitive church retained its perfection unbroken, this observance of Lent did not exist" (First Conference Abbot Theonas, chapter 30).

Jesus observed no Lent.

The apostles and the early true Church of God observed no Lenten season.

Then how did this observance originate?

"The forty days' abstinence of Lent was directly borrowed from the worshippers of the Babylonian goddess. Such a Lent of forty days, in the spring of the year, is still observed by the Yezidis or pagan Devil worshippers of Koordistan, who have inherited it from their early masters, the Babylonians. Such a Lent of forty days was held in spring by the Pagan Mexicans.... Such a Lent of forty days was observed in Egypt..." (The Two Babylons, pp. 104, 105).

In fact this Egyptian Lent of forty days was observed expressly in honor of Osiris, also known as Adonis in Syria and Tammuz in Babylonia (Sabaean Researches, by John Landseer, pp. 111, 112).

Do you realize what has happened? God Almighty commanded His people to observe the Passover forever! (Ex. 12:24.)

This command was given while the Israelites were still in Egypt, prior to the Old Covenant, or the Law of Moses! It pictured, before the crucifixion, Christ's death for the remission of our sins, as a type looking forward to it. At His last Passover, Jesus changed the emblems used from the blood of a lamb and eating its roasted body to the bread and wine. Jesus did not abolish Passover -- He merely changed the emblems, or symbols used.

All the apostles of Christ and true Christians of the first century true Church observed it on the 14th day of the first month of the sacred calendar. It is now a memorial of Christ's death, reaffirming, year by year on its anniversary, the true Christian's faith in the blood of Christ for the remission of his sins, and the broken body of Christ for his physical healing.

But what has happened? Do you realize it?

All Western nations have been deceived into dropping the festival God ordained forever to commemorate the death of the true Saviour for our sins, and substituting in its place the pagan festival in commemoration of the counterfeit "savior" and mediator Baal, the sun god, named after the mythical Ishtar, his wife -- actually none other than the ancient Semiramis, who palmed herself off as the wife of the sun god, the idolatrous "queen of heaven." This is not Christian! It is pagan to the core! Yet scores of millions are deceived into observing this form of heathen idolatry, under the delusion they are honoring Jesus Christ the Son of the Creator God! Easter does not honor Christ! And yet, have you not been like a blind sheep, following the other millions in observing this custom? "The times of this ignorance God winked at; but now commandeth all men every where to repent" (Acts 17:30).

Dyed Eggs

But did you know that dyed Easter eggs also figured in the ancient Babylonian mystery rites, just as they do in Easter observance today? Yes, these are pagan, too.

It is recorded in Edward Davies' The Mythology and Rites of the British Druids, page 210, that the ancient Druids bore an egg as the sacred emblem of their idolatrous order. Eggs were sacred to many ancient civilizations and formed an integral part of the religious ceremonies in Egypt and in the Orient.

According to James Bonwick: "Eggs were hung up in the Egyptian temples. Bunsen calls attention to the mundane egg, the emblem of generative life, proceeding from the mouth of the great god of Egypt.

The mystic egg of Babylon, hatching the Venus Ishtar, fell from heaven to the Euphrates. Dyed eggs were sacred Easter offerings in Egypt, as they are still in China and Europe. Easter, or spring, was the season of birth, terrestrial and celestial" (Egyptian Belief and Modern Thought, pp. 211-212).

Why do people who believe themselves to be Christians dye eggs at Easter? Do they suppose the Bible ordained, or commands, this heathen custom? There is not a word of it in the New Testament. Certainly Christ did not start it, and the apostles and early Christians did none of it! Then why should you do it today? Why follow heathenism and try to convince yourself you are a Christian? God calls such things abomination!

Easter Sunrise Services

You think Easter sunrise services are beautiful? Listen!

God was showing the Prophet Ezekiel the sins of His people in a vision -- a prophecy for today! "

Turn thee yet again," said God, "and thou shalt see greater abominations than these [Ezekiel had just been shown, in vision, idol worship among professing people of God].

And he brought me [in vision] into the inner court of the Eternal's house, and behold...between the porch and the altar, were about five and twenty men, with...their faces toward the east; and they worshipped the sun toward the east. Then he said unto me, Hast thou seen this, 0 son of man? Is it a light thing...that they commit the abominations which they commit here?... Therefore will I deal in fury: mine eye shall not spare, neither will I have pity: and though they cry in mine ears with a loud voice, yet will I not hear them"! (Ezek. 8:15-18.)

Do you grasp at this most abominable thing is? It is the identical thing millions are doing every Easter Sunday morning - - the sunrise service -- standing with their faces toward the east, as the sun is rising, in a service of worship which honors the sun god and his mythical idolatrous consort, goddess Easter. Yes, deceived into believing this is Christian, millions practice every Easter the identical form of the ancient sun worship of the sun god Baal!

Throughout the Bible this is revealed as the most abominable of all idolatry in the sight of the Eternal Creator!

First, Jesus and the apostles foretold, not a universal, widespread popular growth of the true New Testament Church, but a falling away from the truth on the part of the great majority. Prophesying a popular, universal falling away from the faith once delivered, to the Thessalonians Paul stated, "The mystery of iniquity doth already work," only some 20 years after the Church began! He referred to the very "Chaldean Mysteries," of which Easter and Christmas were the two chief festivals!

Second, although Jesus said the gates of hell would never prevail against His church, yet it is prophesied in the New Testament to be the "little flock" -- never as a great, large, popular universal church (Luke 12:32). This is the very fact the world does not realize today!

ARE YOU SHOCKED?... FURIOUS?... DO YOU WANT TO REJECT IT FULLY IGNORING THE TRUTH? HAVE YOU GOT ANGER TOWARDS ME FOR PROCLAIMING THE TRUTH? DO YOU WANT TO KILL ME...yet...?

So I won't mention birthdays, St Valentines Day, Halloween, Or the Roman New Years Eve... At this time... I don't want to infuriate you at this point...

NEXT....

In the days Jesus walked the earth the whole world was keeping the Sun god's day... SUNDAY... Hence SUNday....

Which day did Christ and the Apostles observe? Which day did Paul teach Gentile converts to observe? HOW did the day become changed from the seventh to the first...

We have been reared in a Sunday-observing world. Naturally, we have taken Sunday-observance for granted. Naturally, the idea of a different day as the true Sabbath-day strikes us as fanatical and absurd.

SATURDAY is the right day... The SEVENTH day is the only day the Bible anywhere commands us to keep.

Is this important? Does it really matter which day you observe?...

If we are WRONG, we should want to know it. And we shall quickly, willingly, as a little child accept the TRUTH as God reveals it, whatever that truth may be, if our hearts are right with Him! Perhaps this very study may be the TEST!

These three facts are self-evident:

(1)Sunday is the first day of the week. See any calendar, dictionary, or encyclopedia. Is it, then, by BIBLE authority, "the Christian Sabbath," or truly the "Lord's Day," as it is popularly called today?

(2)Jesus kept the SABBATH, Luke 4:16. It was His custom. The Sabbath He kept was the same day of the week the Jews observed, for the minister and congregation were all in the synagogue, verse 20, and the Pharisees continually rebuked Jesus for healing on the Sabbath day.

(3)The Sabbath Jesus kept was the seventh day of the week. Three days after His crucifixion, this Sabbath still was the day before the first day of the week, Matthew 28:1. Therefore it was not just any day in seven, it was the seventh day of the week. See also Luke 23:56 and 24:1.

BUT . . . was the day CHANGED, by Christ or the apostles, after this, to the first day of the week so that Sunday is now the New Testament Christian Sabbath? Does the NEW TESTAMENT someplace show us that SUNDAY is the true Lord's Day and command Christians to observe it?

NO!!! It is still the SUN god's day... SUNday.....

SEE FOR YOURSELF!

Is "Sunday" Mentioned in the New Testament?

This change could not be made, -- a different day, the FIRST day of the week, could not be established by New Testament BIBLE authority, except in some text or texts employing the phrase "first day of the week," or the word "Sunday."

The word "Sunday" does not appear any place in the Bible.

But the phrase "first day of the week" is found in the New Testament. It occurs in exactly EIGHT places. So it will not take long to examine these eight texts employing this phrase.

If the day was changed by BIBLE authority, -- if Christians are to find any BIBLE AUTHORITY whatsoever for observing Sunday as the "Lord's Day" today, then we must find that authority in one of these eight texts!

Let us acknowledge at the outset, since the seventh day of the week is clearly established as the Bible Sabbath up until the time of the Cross, that there can be no BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observance unless we find it clearly and plainly stated in one of these eight New Testament passages.

So let us examine them carefully, honestly, prayerfully.

The Day AFTER Sabbath

(1)Matthew 28:1, "In the end of the Sabbath, as it began to dawn toward THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulchre." This is the first place in the Bible where "the first day of the week" is mentioned. Matthew wrote these words, under inspiration of the Holy Spirit, six years after the New Testament Church came into being. The text says that late on the Sabbath day it was drawing TOWARD the first day of the week. So this Scripture, we must admit, tells us plainly that three days and three nights after all that was done away; had been securely "nailed to the Cross," the Sabbath was still the day BEFORE the first day of the week -- still the seventh day of the week.

One point is here plainly proved. Many tell us that the Sabbath command was merely for "one day in seven" -- that it did not have to be THE seventh day of the week, but merely the seventh part of time. They argue that Sunday, being one day out of seven, fulfills the command. But here is a passage in the NEW Testament, inspired by the Holy Spirit six years after the beginning of the NEW Testament Church, stating in plain language that, three days after all abolished things had been done away, the Sabbath still existed and that it was the seventh day of THE WEEK -- the day before the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK. That much is proved, and must remain settled for all who honestly seek and accept BIBLE authority. But, was the day changed later?

(2)Mark 16:2, "And very early in the morning THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, they came unto the sepulchre at the rising of the sun." This is merely Mark's version of the sunrise visit to the tomb. It was written ten years after the crucifixion. This first day of the week, also, was "AFTER the Sabbath was PAST," according to verse 1. So this text proves the same thing as the one above -- that the first day of the week was not at that time (three days after the crucifixion) the Sabbath, but the day AFTER the Sabbath. The Sabbath, then, still was the SEVENTH day of the week.

A Common Work Day

(3)Mark 16:9, "Now when Jesus was risen, early the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK He appeared first to Mary Magdalene, out of whom He had cast seven devils." This text speaks of Jesus' appearance to Mary Magdalene later the same day, -- the day AFTER the Sabbath.

Nothing here calls the first day of the week the Christian Sabbath, we must admit. Nothing here calls it "The Lord's Day." Nothing here hallows Sunday or says God made it holy. Nothing here commands us to observe it. Nothing here sets it apart as a memorial of the Resurrection, or for any purpose. No command or example of REST on this day -- no authority for observing Sunday here.

(4)Luke 24:1, "Now UPON THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, very early in the morning, they came unto the sepulchre, bringing their spices which they had prepared, and certain others with them."

This text tells the same event recorded by Matthew and Mark, and it shows that on THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK these women came to do the work of a common week-day, AFTER having rested the Sabbath day "according to the Commandment."

For we read, in the verse just before this, "And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Shall we say these women did not yet know the commandment was abolished? No, we cannot, for this statement was not made by the women, but inspired by the HOLY GHOST, who did know whether it was abolished. And it was written 28 years after the establishing of the New Testament Church! The Holy Ghost THEN inspired the direct statement that the rest of these women on the Sabbath day was according to the commandment, which statement would not be possible had the commandment been abolished.

This text, then, establishes Sunday as a common work day, three days after the crucifixion, and it further establishes that at that time the command to rest on the Sabbath had not been abolished.

(5)John 20:1, "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulchre."

This, written 63 years after the crucifixion, is merely John's version, describing the same visit to the tomb. It confirms the facts above.

Was This a Religious Meeting, to Celebrate the Resurrection?

(6)John 20:19, "Then the same day at evening, being THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK, when the doors were shut where the disciples were assembled for fear of the Jews, came Jesus and stood in the midst, and saith unto them, Peace be unto you."

Let us examine this carefully, for some claim this was a religious service called for the purpose of celebrating the Resurrection. But notice this is the same first day of the week that FOLLOWED the Sabbath. It was Jesus' first opportunity to appear to His disciples. For three and a half years He had been constantly with them, on ALL days of the week. His meeting with them, of itself, could not establish any day as a Sabbath.

Were they assembled to celebrate the Resurrection, thus establishing Sunday as the Christian Sabbath in honor of the Resurrection? The text says they were assembled "for fear of the Jews." The Jews had just taken and crucified their Master. They were afraid. The doors were shut because of their fear -- probably bolted. Why were they assembled? "FOR FEAR OF THE JEWS" according to this text, and also because they all lived together in this upper room, Acts 1:13. They could not have assembled to celebrate the Resurrection for THEY DID NOT BELIEVE JESUS WAS RISEN (Mark 16:14; Luke 27:37, 39, 41). Nothing in this text calls this day "Sabbath," or "Lord's Day," or any sacred title. Nothing here sets it apart, makes it holy. No authority here for changing a command of God!

Lord's Supper Day -- or Work Day -- WHICH?

(7)Acts 20:7, "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. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together."

Here, at last, we find a religious meeting on the first day of the week. But it was not a SUNDAY meeting!

Notice, Paul continued his speech until midnight! "And there were many LIGHTS in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together." It was AFTER SUNSET, prior to midnight, the first day of the week. Now at that time the first day of the week did not begin at midnight, as man begins it today. It began, and the seventh day ended, AT SUNSET! All Bible days begin and end at SUNSET. Throughout the Roman world at that time, and for a few hundred years afterward, days began and ended at sunset. The practice of beginning the new day at midnight was started much later. Therefore this meeting, and Paul's preaching, took place during the hours we now call SATURDAY NIGHT -- it was not a Sunday meeting at all!

WHY Paul Remained Behind

Let us, now, pick up the thread of the narrative related in this passage. Begin in verse 6:

"We sailed away from Philippi after the days of unleavened bread, and came unto them at Troas in five days; where we abode seven days. 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."

Paul and his companions had been in this town of Troas seven days. His companions had left by ship after sunset. Paul remained behind for a farewell meeting. He preached until midnight, "ready to depart on the morrow." At break of day -- sunrise Sunday morning -- Paul departed, verse 11.

Now notice what his companions had done. "And we went before to ship, and sailed unto Assos, there intending to take in Paul: for so had he appointed, minding himself to go afoot. And when he met with us at Assos, we took him in," verses 13-14.

Look at this on the map. Paul's companions had to sail around a peninsula -- a distance of fifty or sixty miles, while Paul afoot, walked across, a distance of 19 and a half miles. He was able to walk this distance in shorter time than they could sail the much longer distance, which gave Paul the opportunity to remain behind after they left, for this last farewell sermon and visit.

Now do you see what actually happened? Paul's companions were engaged in the labor of rowing and sailing a boat while Paul was preaching that Saturday night and early Sunday morning -- on the first day of the week. They had set sail Saturday night, AFTER THE SABBATH HAD ENDED. Paul remained behind for one more last farewell sermon. Then, at break of day Sunday morning, Paul set out afoot, indulging in the labor of a 19 and a half mile walk from Troas to Assos! He waited till the Sabbath was past for this long walk -- a good hard day's work, if you ever tried it! He did it on the first day of the week a common work day!

What "Break Bread" Means

But does this text not say, as many claim today, that the disciples always held communion every first day of the week? NOT AT ALL!

In the first place, it says nothing about anything being done EVERY first day of the week. It relates the events of this one particular first day of the week, ONLY. It is not speaking of any CUSTOMS, but of the events occurring as Paul and his companions concluded their seven-day visit in passing by this town.

Jesus had introduced the Lord's Supper as part of the Passover, at the beginning of the annual "days of unleavened bread." No longer could they kill lambs or eat the roasted body of Passover Lambs, after Christ, OUR Passover, had been once slain for us. Yet the Passover was ordained FOREVER, Exodus 12:24. At His last Passover supper Jesus substituted the wine as the emblem of His blood, instead of the blood of the slain lamb. He substituted the unleavened bread for the roast body of the lamb as the symbol of His body, broken for us. The disciples continued to observe Passover annually, now in the form of the Lord's Supper using only the bread and wine, as a MEMORIAL, I Corinthians 11:24, of Christ's DEATH, I Corinthians 11:26, showing His death till He come again. They continued to observe the days of unleavened bread, Acts 20:6.

This year they had observed the days of unleavened bread and the Communion service at Philippi, after which they came to Troas in five days where they remained seven days.

Disciples often fasted on the Sabbath in those days. Consequently, after the Sabbath day had ended, at sunset, "upon the first day of the week, -- the disciples came together to BREAK BREAD."

People have ASSUMED this expression to mean the taking of Communion. But notice! Paul preached, and continued preaching until midnight. They had no opportunity to stop and "break bread" until then. When Paul "therefore was come up again" -- after restoring the one who had fallen down from the third balcony -- "and had broken bread, AND EATEN."

Note it! "Broken bread AND EATEN." This breaking bread was not Communion -- simply eating a meal. This expression was commonly used of old to designate a meal. It still is used in that sense in parts of even the United States.

Notice Luke 22:16, where Jesus was introducing the Lord's Supper, taking it with His disciples. He said, "I will not any more eat thereof until it be fulfilled in the Kingdom of God." Yet, the day after His resurrection, after walking with the two disciples to Emmaus, as "he sat at MEAT with them, he took bread, and blessed it, and brake, and gave to them," Luke 24:30. Here Jesus "brake bread" but it was not the Lord's Supper, which He said He would NOT take again. It was a meal -- "He sat AT MEAT."

Notice Acts 2:46. The disciples, "continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, did eat their meat with gladness." Here again "breaking bread" means EATING MEAT. Not on the first day of the week, but DAILY.

Again, when Paul was shipwrecked on the voyage to Rome, the sailors had been fasting out of fright. But "Paul besought them all to take MEAT, saying, "This day is the fourteenth day that ye have tarried and continued fasting, having taken nothing. Wherefore I pray you to take some MEAT: for this is for your health -- And when he had thus spoken, he took bread, and gave thanks to God in presence of them all: and when he had broken it, he began to eat," Acts 27:33-35. Here Paul broke bread to give to unconverted sailors who were hungry.

The truth is, NOWHERE IN THE BIBLE is the expression "breaking of bread," or "to break bread," used to signify observance of the Lord's Supper. In all those texts it means, simply, eating a meal. So, when we read in Acts 20:7, 11, "the disciples came together to break," and how Paul had "broken bread and EATEN," we know by Scripture interpretation it referred only to eating food as a meal, not to a Communion service.

What Was This COLLECTION?

We come now to the 8th and last place where the term "first day of the week" occurs in the Bible.

(8)I Corinthians 16:2, "Upon the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK let everyone of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him."

Often we see this text printed on the little offering envelopes in the pews of popular churches, and we have been told that this text sets THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK as the time for taking up the church collection for the carrying on of God's work, paying the minister, etc.

Let us begin with the first verse and really catch the true intended meaning of this verse.

"Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order of 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."

This speaks of a collection -- but for WHOM -- for WHAT? Note it! Not for the preacher -- not for evangelism -- but "the collection FOR THE SAINTS." The poor saints at Jerusalem were suffering from drought and famine. They needed, not money, but FOOD. Notice Paul had given similar instruction to other churches. Now observe his instruction to the Romans:

"But now I go unto Jerusalem to minister unto the saints. For it hath pleased them of Macedonia and Achaia (where the Corinthian Church was located) to make a certain contribution for the poor saints which are at Jerusalem . . . When, therefore, I have performed this, and have sealed to them this fruit, I will come by you into Spain," Romans 15:25-28.

Ah! Did you catch it? It was not money, but FRUIT that was being sealed for shipment to the poor saints at Jerusalem!

Now turn back to I Corinthians 16. Paul is speaking concerning a collection FOR THE SAINTS. Upon the first day of the week each one of them is instructed to do what? Look at it! Does it say drop a coin in the collection plate at a church service? Not at all!

It says "let everyone of you lay by him IN STORE." Note it! LAY BY! STORE UP! Store up BY HIMSELF -- at home! Not lay by at the church house -- lay by HIM -- at home.

Now WHY? "that there be no GATHERINGS when I come." Men GATHER fruit out of the orchard -- they GATHER vegetables out of the ground, to be STORED UP. But putting coins in a collection plate at church, or handing in your tithe-envelope could not be called a GATHERING, but an offering or collection.

Notice further: "And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem. And if it be meet that I go also, they (more than one) shall go with me," verses 3-4.

Apparently it was going of require several men to carry this collection, gathered and stored up, to Jerusalem. If it were tithe or offering for the minister or the spread of the Gospel, Paul could have carried the money alone.

So, once again, the last and final text in the Bible where we find "the FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" mentioned, it is a WORK DAY -- a day for gathering fruit and food out of the orchards and the fields and gardens, and storing it up. It was to be the FIRST labor of the week, hence the first day of the week, as soon as the Sabbath was past!

No Bible Authority

So, finally, we find upon honest examination that NOT ONE of the texts speaking about "THE FIRST DAY OF THE WEEK" sets it apart as a rest day. Not one makes it holy, calls it the Sabbath or by any other sacred title. In EVERY case, the first day of the week was a common work day.

In NONE of them was there a religious meeting and preaching service being held on the hours we now call SUNDAY. In NONE of them can we find a single shred of BIBLE AUTHORITY for Sunday observance! There is no record in the Bible of celebrating the Resurrection on Sunday.

Sometimes Revelation 1:10 is used as Bible authority for calling Sunday "The LORD'S DAY." It says: "I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and heard behind me a great voice." But this does not say the "first day of the week," or "Sunday" is the "day" here called "the Lord's day." As a matter of fact, it is not speaking of ANY day of the week at all, but of "the Day of the Lord," -- the time of the coming PLAGUES, climaxing in the coming of Christ, and the millennium. This is the THEME of the Revelation.

But, if one wants to argue, and insist upon this text applying to the Sabbath.. You need to check out this link "The Lord's Day"... The terrible and dreadful day of the Lord as it is described in the scriptures.

In the original commandment, in Exodus 20:10, we read: "The seventh day is the Sabbath OF THE LORD THY GOD." Not MY day, or your day. Sunday is MY day. So is Tuesday, and every other week-day, for my labor and my own needs. But the seventh day is NOT mine -- it is THE LORD'S! It belongs to HIM, and He made it HOLY, and commanded us to KEEP it that way. We have no right to use it for ourselves. It is HIS DAY!

The TRUE SABBATH of the NEW Testament!

Now briefly let us look thru the New Testament to find WHICH DAY Paul kept, and taught Gentile converts to keep.

Notice which day Paul and Barnabas used for preaching to Gentiles:

(1)Acts 13:14-15, 42-44, "But when they departed from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia, and went into the synagogue ON THE SABBATH DAY, and sat down. And after the reading of the law and the prophets the rulers of the synagogue sent unto them, saying, Ye men and brethren, if ye have any word of exhortation for the people, say on."

Then Paul stood up, and spoke, preaching Christ to them.

"And when the Jews were gone out of the synagogue, the GENTILES besought that these words might be preached to them THE NEXT SABBATH."

Now since Paul was preaching "the grace of God," (verse 43), here was his opportunity to straighten out these Gentiles, and explain that the Sabbath was done away. Why should he wait a whole week, in order to preach to THE GENTILES on THE NEXT SABBATH? If the day had now been changed to Sunday, why did not Paul tell them they would not have to wait a week, but the very next day, Sunday, was the proper day for this service? But notice what Paul did do . . . .

"And the NEXT SABBATH DAY came almost the whole city together to hear the word of God." Here Paul waited a whole week, passing up a Sunday, in order to preach to the GENTILES upon the Sabbath day.

Gentiles Met on SABBATH

(2)Acts 15:1-2, 5, 14-21. Study this whole passage carefully. Certain men had come down from Judaea to Antioch, teaching that the Gentile converts there must be circumcised and keep the law of Moses to be saved. Quite a dissention arose between them and Paul and Barnabas. So it was decided Paul and Barnabas would go to Jerusalem to the apostles and elders about the question.

At the conference at Jerusalem, James gave the decision. "Wherefore my sentence is," he pronounced, (verses 19-21), -- that we write unto them, that they abstain from pollution of idols, and from fornication, and from things strangled, and from blood."

He did not say they should not keep the Ten Commandments. The Ten Commandments were not in question -- but only the Law of Moses, which was an altogether DIFFERENT law. He merely mentioned four prohibitions, and otherwise they did not need to observe the law of Moses.

But why WRITE this sentence to them? Note it! "For Moses of old time hath in every city them that preach him, being read in the synagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY," verse 21.

Do you see it? Judaizing teachers were reading the Law of Moses and teaching people in the synagogues EVERY SABBATH DAY. The apostles were WRITING this decision concerning the Law of Moses, BECAUSE GENTILE CONVERTS WERE GOING TO CHURCH ON THE SABBATH DAY, and would hear this false teaching. In order to counteract it, and protect the Gentiles from it, the written message was sent. It shows that the GENTILE CONVERTS HAD STARTED KEEPING THE SABBATH DAY, AND WENT TO CHURCH ON THAT DAY! And the Apostles' letter did not reprove them for this Sabbath-keeping, or even mention it.

This is very significant, since GENTILES HAD NEVER KEPT THE SABBATH. Therefore it is something these Gentiles had STARTED doing after they were converted under the teaching of Paul and Barnabas!

A Sabbath in Philippi

(3)Acts 16:12-15. Here we find Paul and Silas at Philippi. And "we were in that city abiding certain days. And ON THE SABBATH we went out of the city by the river side, where prayer was wont to be made; and we sat down, and spake unto the women which resorted thither. And a certain woman named Lydia, a seller of purple, of the city of Thyatira, which worshipped God, heard us: whose heart the Lord opened, . . . and when she was baptized . . . ."

Here again Paul and his companions waited until the Sabbath, and then went to a place of worship, and preached, and this woman, probably a Gentile, was converted. The passage indicated it was the CUSTOM to meet there on the Sabbath, and that it was CUSTOM for Paul and his companions to go to a place of prayer and worship when the Sabbath day came.

Paul Worked Week-days, and Kept the SABBATH

(4)Acts 18:1-11, "After these things Paul departed from Athens, and came to Corinth; and found a certain Jew named Aquila . . . with his wife Priscilla . . . and came unto them. And because he was of the same craft, he abode with them, and wrought; for by their occupation they were tentmakers, and he reasoned in the synagogue EVERY SABBATH, and persuaded the Jews and the Greeks."

If we could but find one text in the New Testament giving as strong authority for Sunday observance as this one does for Sabbath-keeping, we should certainly have BIBLE AUTHORITY for it! Here Paul WORKED week-days, but went to church and taught GENTILES as well as Jews every SABBATH.

Now the Commandment says; "Six days shalt thou labor, and do all thy work," just as much as it says "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy." There is just as much a command to work six days as there is to rest the seventh. And so if the day had been changed, Paul would have had to work Sabbaths, in order to go to church and preach every Sunday. But here he WORKED week days and went to church and preached EVERY SABBATH -- not just on one particular occasion -- it says EVERY SABBATH.

He preached Christ, and the Gospel of the Kingdom. And when the Jews became offended and blasphemed, he turned away from the Jews altogether, and from then on preached TO GENTILES ONLY, (verse 6), and he continued there a year and six months (verse 11), -- working week days -- preaching to Gentiles ONLY -- EVERY SABBATH!

What MORE conclusive proof could we desire? What STRONGER Bible evidence than this, as to the true Sabbath of the New Testament? For a year and a half Paul continued working week-days -- six days -- including Sundays -- and preaching to GENTILES exclusively EVERY SABBATH! Certainly it was his custom and manner! Certainly He could not have done this had the Sabbath been done away, or changed.

Paul COMMANDS Gentiles to Keep the Sabbath

To these Gentile-born at Corinth, Paul COMMANDED: "Be ye followers of me, even as I also am of Christ," I Corinthians 11:1.

And Paul "as his manner was, went in unto them, and three SABBATH DAYS reasoned with them out of the Scriptures," Acts 17:2. It was his MANNER -- his CUSTOM, as we have seen by ample evidence showing a total of eighty-four different Sabbaths Paul is shown specifically to have kept.

Did he follow Jesus in this? Why, CERTAINLY! Jesus, "as his custom was. . . went into the synagogue ON THE SABBATH DAY," Luke 4:16.

It was Jesus' custom. Paul followed Him, and COMMANDED the Gentile converts to follow him, even as he followed Christ.

The question for us, today, is, "Are WE willing to follow in His steps?" Jesus came to set us an example, that we should FOLLOW HIS STEPS. If we, like Paul, are CRUCIFIED with Christ, and HE lives HIS life IN us, Christ IN us will still keep the Sabbath, for He is the SAME, yesterday, today, and forever!

And these are the main reasons the people would not believe Jesus and were angry and KILLED HIM...

And today the world is the same as it was in Jesus' day.... The world loves their sin...

So ... You've just scraped the surface.... The most astonishing, exhilarating, piece of wisdom you yet to see...

So... Would you have been one of the few that followed Jesus or would you have been among the many that crucified him..

NOTICE CAREFULLY...

The dictionaries definition for Sign, Mark, and Token, are all one and the same!!!

Sign Of God's People

Ezek 20:12 Moreover also I gave them my Sabbaths, to be a between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD that sanctify them.

Ezek 20:20 And hallow my Sabbaths; and they shall be a between me and you, that ye may know that I am the LORD your God.

Exo 31:13 Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my Sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am the LORD that doth sanctify you.

Exo 31:16 Wherefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.

Exo 31:17 It is a between me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested, and was refreshed.

Deuteronomy 6:6 And these words, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart:
7 And thou shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thine house, and when thou walkest by the way, and when thou liest down, and when thou risest up.
And thou shalt bind them for a upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes.

Deuteronomy 11:18 ÂTherefore shall ye lay up these my words in your heart and in your soul, and bind them for a upon your hand, that they may be as frontlets between your eyes.

Exodus 13:16 And it shall be for a upon thine hand, and for frontlets between thine eyes: for by strength of hand the LORD brought us forth out of Egypt.

Exodus 13:9And it shall be for a unto thee upon thine hand, and for a memorial between thine eyes, that the LORD'S law may be in thy mouth: for with a strong hand hath the LORD brought thee out of Egypt.

If you'll notice the Jews never lost this identifying sign. That's why everyone knows they are God's chosen people. But Israel had 12 sons. The Jews are the descendants of only one ; Judah. The other 11 tribes lost this identifying sign (Mark). Learn more here U.S.A. And Great Britain In Prophecy

Saying, Hurt not the earth, neither the sea, nor the trees, till we have sealed the servants of our God in their foreheads. Revelation 7:3

And it was commanded them that they should not hurt the grass of the earth, neither any green thing, neither any tree; but only those men which have not the seal of God in their foreheads. Revelation 9:4

Compare with the Mark of the Beast ...

So I've started you on a fascinating journey.... To continue this exciting tale follow the following links...

The Mark Of The Beast

Where Is The Church Jesus Started and The Abomination That Maketh Desolate

The Wonderful World Tomorrow And What It Will Be Like

America and Great Britain In Prophecy