The main reason "Christians" keep Sunday as their day of public worship is the belief that the Messiah rose from the grave on Sunday morning, and most Christian ministers preach this.
In order to know the exact day when the Messiah died and when he arose from the grave, we must be aware of certain facts regarding the Hebrew day and Passover Week.
1} The Hebrew day began at SUNDOWN and continued until the following sundown, the evening {then} the morning, the 1st day{Gen.1:5},Sundown ended one day and began another day.{Lev.23:32}.
2} Passover began on the 14th day of the month, in the fourteenth day of the first month at evening is Yahweh's Passover {Lev.23:5},
3} There is a weekly Sabbath every seventh day {Saturday},and there are seven High Sabbaths, and all but one of them fall on different days of the week. The Passover lamb was to be killed in the evening of the fourteenth, at the going down of the sun and the next day {beginning at sundown},the fifteenth, is a feast day, A High Sabbath and ye shall keep it until the fourteenth day of the same month and the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it in the evening {Ex.12:6}, thou shalt sacrifice the Passover at evening, at the going down of the sun {Deut.16:6}. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the FEAST OF UNLEAVENED BREAD UNTO THE LORD: Seven days you must eat unleavened bread.. In the first day the 15th},ye shall have an holy convocation: ye shall do no servile work therein {Lev.23:6,7}
4}We must understand that the Messiah was that Passover Lamb and he died on the exact day and time that the Passover lambs were being sacrificed. Purge out, therefore, the old leaven, that ye may be a new lump, as ye are unleavened, for even Yahshua, our Passover, is Sacrificed for us{1Cor.5:7}
Behold the Lamb of Yahweh {John.1:29}. Did the Messiah rise from the grave on Sunday morning? The Bible says No!
Mt.28:1 In the end of the Sabbath Saturday},just before sundown},as it began to dawn toward the first day of the week, came Mary Magdalene and the other Mary to see the sepulcher.
Mt.28:6 HE IS NOT HERE; for he is risen.
Mk.16:2 and very early in the morning of the first day of the week, they came to the sepulcher at the rising of the sun.
Mk.16:6 He is risen, HE IS NOT HERE.
Lk.24:1 Now upon the first day of the week, very early in the morning, they came to the sepulcher.
Lk.24:6 HE IS NOT HERE, but is risen.
Jn.20:1 The first day of the week cometh Mary Magdalene early, when it was yet dark, unto the sepulcher.
Jn.20:2..they have TAKEN THE MESSIAH of the sepulcher, and WE KNOW NOT WHERE they have laid him...
ALL {4} gospels prove that He did not rise on Sunday morning. On Sunday morning, the Messiah was gone, He arose sometime before Sunday morning. Christians say the Messiah was buried just before 6:00 p.m. on Friday. That means He was in the grave Friday night, Saturday, and Saturday, night, since we know He was gone from the grave before Sunday morning, He therefore was in the grave one day and two nights! This is in direct opposition to scripture. The Messiah said that the only proof that He would give to prove He is the Messiah was that He would be in the grave 3 days and 3 nights, If He was not in the grave 3 days and 3 nights then He is not the Messiah!
An evil and adulterous generation seeketh after a sign; and there shall no sign be given to it, but the sign of the prophet Jonah: For as Jonah was 3 days and 3 nights in the belly of the great fish so shall the Son of Man be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth{Mt.12:39,40},Now who do we believe-the Messiah or what the world teaches? Let's search the scriptures and prove all things {John.5:39; 1Th.5:21},
And that day was the preparation ,and the Sabbath drew on{Lk.23:54},It was the preparation for the Passover. And it was the preparation of the Passover {Jn.19:14} The next day was a HIGH SABBATH {the 15th}.The Jews, therefore, because it was the preparation, that the body should not remain upon the cross on the Sabbath day for that day was an HIGH DAY} besought Pilate that their legs might be broken and that they might be taken away {Jn.19:31}.
The crucifixion day the 14th}was the day before the HIGH SABBATH {the 15th},The Messiah died as the sun was going down about 3:00 p.m.} the 9th hour},on the fourteenth day and had to be buried before sundown {about 6:00p.m.} the twelfth hour}.Sundown began the next day-the HIGH SABBATH {the 15th}. "So these high priest, upon the coming of their feast which is called the Passover, when they slay their sacrifices, from the 9th hour to the 11th hour. The Messiah died at the exact time that the Passover lambs were being slain.
Mt.28:1-read: After the Sabbath {and there were two that week}, The 15th was a HIGH SABBATH and the 17th was the weekly Commandment Sabbath, Saturday. AND WHEN THE SABBATH WAS PAST, Mary Magdalene, and the mother of James, and Salome, had bought sweet spices, that they might come and anoint Him {Mk.16:1},
After a Sabbath was past, the women bought spices to anoint the Messiah, and they returned, and prepared spices and ointments, and RESTED THE SABBATH DAY, according to the commandment {Lk.23:56}.
These two verses do not contradict each other, Mark was referring to the HIGH SABBATH {Thursday, the 15th}, the women bought the spices after this Sabbath was over, they bought and prepared the spices on Friday, the 16th and rested on the commandment Sabbath {Saturday}, So, we see there were {2} Sabbaths that week THEREFORE, the Messiah died at the 9th hour Hebrew time}-3:00p.m. Roman time on Wednesday "THE MIDST OF THE WEEK". He was buried just before the 12th hour, sundown, about 6: p.m.,which is also the beginning of the 15th the HIGH SABBATH. He lay in the grave all night and all day Thursday, the 15th {THE HIGH SABBATH}. He lay in the grave all night and all day Friday, and all night Friday, the 16th {the women prepared the spices}. He lay in the grave all night and all day Saturday, the 17th {weekly Sabbath}, He arose from the grave just before sundown {6:00p.m.}on Saturday, the weekly Sabbath, He arose exactly 72 hours after He was buried," {EXACTLY 3 DAYS AND 3 NIGHTS}," just as He said He would. That proves He is the Messiah!
Again, who do we believe? The Messiah or the world? There is a verse of scripture which would seem to prove that the Messiah rose from the grave on Sunday morning. Now after He had risen early on the 1st day of the week..{Mk.16:9} It is interesting to note that Mark 16:9-20 are not found in any of the most ancient manuscripts. It as inserted hundreds of years after the apostles by the early Roman Church.
The New International Version-note: the most reliable early manuscripts omit Mark 16:9-20.
Oxford Niv Scofield study bible Note: verses 9-20 are not found in the two most ancient manuscripts, the Sinaiticus and Vaticanus; but the passage is quoted by Irenaeus and Hippoltus in the second or third century {2 Roman Catholic saints}.
The Living Bible-note: verses 9-20 are not found in the most ancient manuscripts, but may be considered and appendix giving additional facts. The Jerusalem Bible -note: Many manuscripts omit vs.9-20, and this ending to the gospel may not have been written by Mark, although it is old enough.
The new English bible-note:At this point {v8} some of the most ancient witnesses bring the book to a close.
Revised standard version-note: Some of the most ancient authorities bring the book to a close at the end of v8
Phillips Modern English-note: An alternate ending found in certain manuscripts follows verse 8.
Good News for modern man gives an old ending to the gospel and then another old ending. {we can take our pick on which is the word of God.}
Bible scholars admit that Mark 16:9-20 are not part of the bible, why are they there then?
In the book of Ezekiel,chp.8, Ezekiel is shown several abominations but the greatest abomination is found in 15 and 16: Then said he unto me, hast thou seen this, O son of man? Turn yet again, and thou shalt see greater abominations than these. And He brought me into the inner court of the YHWH'S house, and behold, at the door of the temple of YHWH, between the porch and the altar, were about 5 and 20 men, with their back toward the temple of YHWH, and their faces toward the east: and they worshipped the sun toward the east. On Easter Sunday morning, when Christian are standing in the early morning darkness with their backs toward their temple and awaiting the rising of the SUN, do they ever stop and wonder what they are doing? The Messiah asked us to remember His death and to keep that day as a memorial. THE WORLD DOES THE OPPOSITE. For as often as ye eat this bread, and drink this copy do shew the Messiah’s death till He come{1st.Cor.11:26 }
The memorial of His death is sundown on the 14th day of the first month-PASSOVER, the exact same day as the original Passover which foreshadowed the Messiah, and which is now kept in a new light, we are to remember this day until the Messiah returns and then it may be "done away with". And this day shall be unto you for a memorial; and you shall keep it a feast to the Lord through out your generations ; YOU SHALL KEEP IT A FEAST BY AN ORDINANCE FOREVER {Ex.12:42}, Thou shalt therefore keep this ordinance in its season from year to year {Ex.13:10},Since the Messiah our Savior asks us to remember this very same day, can we still call it "JEWISH"? Can we say it is no longer to be a memorial? The only difference now is that the true believer recognizes the true meaning of Passover while the Jew remains in unbelief, although the Jew does not comprehend the true meaning of Passover or any of the High Sabbath},he still keeps and preserves it which is more than can be said for "so called NEW COVENANT BELIEVERS", there is no longer a need to sacrifice a lamb because Yahshua ,our Passover, has been sacrificed for us, ONCE AND FOR ALL. All we need do now is "REMEMBER". That event was the 14th day of the 1st month, Abib, Passover, at the going down of the sun. If the Messiah arose as we have shown on the 17th day of the month, which is a different day every year, why do Christians always celebrate on the day of the SUN?
editors note; Yahshua was crucified in the middle of the week {Wednesday} {Dan. 9:27}
History can prove that Yahweh did not change the Sabbath, but history can prove that Man did.
APPENDIX 9
THE FIRST SUNDAY LAW
"The earliest recognition of the observation of Sunday as a legal duty is a constitution of Constantine in 321 A.D. enacting that all courts of justice, inhabitants of towns, and workshops were to be at rest on Sunday (venerabili de Solis), with an exception in favor of those engaged in agricultural labor." Encyclopedia Britannica, ninth edition, article "Sunday."
The Latin original is in the Codes Justiniani (Codes of Justinian), lib. 3, title 12, lex. 3.
The law is given in Latin and in English in Philip Schaff's History of the Christian Church, Vol. 3, 3d period, chapter 7, sec. 75, pg. 380, footnote 1.
And in Albert Henry Newman's A Manual of Church History, (Philadelphia: The American Baptist Publication Society, 1933),rev.ed., Vol. 1,pp. 305-307.
And in Leroy E. Froom, The Prophetic Faith of Our Fathers (Washington, D.C.: Review & Herald Publishing Asoc., 1950), Vol. 1, pp. 376-381.
APPENDIX 10
"FIRST DAY" BIBLE TEXTS
Millions of conscientious Christians attend church every Sunday, the first day of the week. They do so believing that somewhere, somehow, someone changed the day of worship. Either that, or they aren't aware that Yahweh set aside the seventh day, not the first day of the week as His holy day.
It is true, a change has been made.
But by whom? We've discovered that Yahweh made the Sabbath during the first week of earth's history. He set it aside as a weekly appointment between man and Himself - as a blessing, a refreshment, a date between two lovers so to speak (Yahweh and man.)
If God changed His mind about His special appointment day with us, wouldn't He have recorded so momentous an adjustment in the Bible?
We've already seen that the beast power claims to have made the change, but what does the Bible say about it?
There're eight texts in the New Testament that mention the first day of the week. Look at them carefully.
Matthew 28:1 Mark 16:1,2 Mark 16:9 Luke 24:1 John 20: 1 John 20: 19 Acts 20: 7,8 I Corinthians 16:1,2
The first five texts simply state that the women came to the sepulchre early on the resurrection morning, and that Yahshua rose from the dead.
Now look up John 20:19 in your Bible. It tells us that Yahshua appeared to the disciples later on the resurrection day. It says that the reason they were assembled was "for fear of the Jews. ''
They were scared. No telling when the Jews might grab them and treat them to the same fate as their Master. They were hiding.
They had seen their beloved Master die. They "returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment." Luke 23:56. And now they're hiding with the doors shut "for fear of the Jews." John, 20:19.
There's no mention of a change.
The seventh text is Acts 20:7,8. It says "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."
This was a night meeting - the dark part of the first day of the week. In Bible reckoning, the dark part of the day comes before the light part. Genesis 1:5 - "and Elohim called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day." The dark part comes first.
The Bible reckons a day from sunset to sunset.
The seventh day begins on sunset Friday evening. The first day of the week begins sunset Saturday evening. Paul is together with his friends on the dark part of the first day of the week - Saturday night. This is a farewell get-together. He preached until mid-night, when poor Eutychus falls out the window. (Acts 20:9).
You can imagine how relieved they were when it was found that Yahweh spared his life. Verse eleven says that they talked till the break of day and then Paul departed. Verse thirteen shows that Paul spent that Sunday morning traveling to Assos.
There's nothing here either concerning a change of the Sabbath.
The New English Bible translates this text like this:
"On the Saturday night, in our assembly for the breaking of bread, Paul, who was to leave the next day, addressed them, and went on speaking until midnight." Acts 20: 7.
The last text mentions the first day of the week in I Corinthians 16:1,2.
It says - "Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Calatia, even so do ye. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as Yahweh hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come." Verse three tells that he will bring the offering to Jerusalem.
As he had done in Galatia, so Paul also requests of those in Corinth to have a collection all ready when he would come to take it to the poor saints in Jerusalem. There's nothing in the text about a church service, but each person is to "lay by him in store." the first of the week was the best time for the people to set some money aside because later in the week it would be spent. That's true today as well! Paul requested this so that "there be no gatherings when I come." I Corinthians 16:2.
At this time the Yahweh are suffering hardship in Jerusalem and Paul is making his rounds to the congregations taking up a collection for them. (We should be that thoughtful today.)
There's nothing in this text either about a change of Yahweh's Sabbath to Sunday.
Concerning worship, what was Paul's custom?
Here it is.
"And Paul, as his manner was, went in unto them, and three Sabbath days reasoned with them out of the scriptures." Acts 17:2.
And he came to Nazareth, where he had been brought up: and, as his custom was, he went into the synagogue on the Sabbath day, and stood up for to read. (Luke 4:.16).
