Many of us remember from television decades ago Archie Bunker the Bigot. Webster defines a bigot as one who is "intolerant of opinions which conflict with his own." This intolerance can exist in almost any domain, but is common in racial, political and religious matters. When most of the world believed the world was flat, the flat earth people were intolerant of the round earth ones.
In religious matters, most of us have accepted widely accepted tradition rather than what God's Word actually says. We may be surprised to find out that accepting without critical examination the prevailing views of those around us has caused us to be perhaps a bit "Bunkeresque" in our opinion of those who take the whole Bible as the truth and nothing but the truth. Perhaps it is time for us to come out of our bunkers and face the truth about ourselves, and even better, the truth contained in the Bible.
Were you aware, for instance, that more Christians have been killed for keeping the Sabbath (the seventh day) than for any other reason? The spirit of murder is also expressed in gossip, curses and accusations. Satan has spread much disinformation about the Sabbath. He has worked through people, religious bigots who hate the Sabbath with a passion. Certain statements based in truth and in God's Word bring out that hatred. Following are some of those declarations. Perhaps you will be able to see if you have been affected by this bigotry, even in a small way:
1. Jesus said that if you loved Him you would obey His voice (John 14:15).
2. Regarding the Sabbath, Jesus said, in Exodus 16:28, "How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My instructions?"
3. The Sabbath day is a key that leads us to a greater love of Jesus.
4. The Sabbath is a sign and a test identifying and setting apart those who belong fully to Jesus (Ex. 31:13).
5. Jesus made the Sabbath as a key to understand who He really is. In essence, He is saying, "If you want to know Me, come to My Sabbath."
6. Jesus rested in the Sabbath, observing it the way He meant it to be kept (Gen. 2:2-3; Heb. 4:9-11; Luke 4:16).
7. Jesus made the Sabbath holy by pouring part of Himself into the day.
8. The Sabbaths are a key to understanding God's plan of love for humanity.
9. Jesus rested from His work on the Sabbath and was refreshed (Ex. 31:17).
10. The Sabbath covenant points to the importance of the cross and its redemptive power (Deut. 5:15). The Hebrew language picture formed by the letters of the word shabbat has the following meaning: return to the covenant (or cross).
11. The Sabbath covenant was the first covenant between God and man (all mankind) and the foundation for the marriage covenant.
12. The Sabbath reminds us that Jesus is the Creator. It is the only commandment that identifies the One who gave the commandments.
13. Jesus left the Sabbath as a sign of those who would belong to Him, those who would fully enter a blood covenant with Him, rejecting the broad, easy way for the narrow road.
14. All the plans and purposes of God are expressed in the Sabbath.
15. Satan hates the Sabbath and attacks it because it leads people to the real Jesus.
16. The Sabbath expresses God's love for mankind.
17. The Sabbath allows us to draw closer to Jesus more than any event in time.
18. The Sabbath represents the end of the rule of the flesh. In order to observe it we must take up our cross and surrender to Jesus as Divine Master. We gain mastery over the flesh every time we observe the Sabbath.
19. The Sabbath permits a time of corporate worship and allows us the appointed time to release to Jesus that which has oppressed us during the week.
20. Keeping the Sabbath causes failure in the plans and schemes of Satan because of our willing obedience to Jesus. One of the conceptual meanings of shabbat is "to cause failure in the enemy's plans."
21. It was Jesus who commanded that the Sabbath be kept holy. The Sabbath day belongs to Him. If you bought a brand new couch, you would not want it soiled. Jesus owns the Sabbath, and He said to keep our feet off His day (Isa. 58:13-14).
22. The Sabbath is the sign on which Jesus writes, in effect, "If you belong to Me, you will honor My day and accept the cross it represents."
23. Jesus said we are to observe the Sabbath because it is holy to us.
24. Since the time of the observance of the Sabbath was set in the covenant, it is unchangeable and will exist forever (Ex. 31:17).
25. Jesus set all the conditions for keeping the Sabbath.
26. Jesus established a perpetual covenant between God and man that can only be broken by the death of the Godhead. No room exists for man to alter it, although those steeped in religiosity have tried to do so. When we say the Sabbath is done away, we are in effect saying we want God dead.
27. Jesus commanded us to keep the Sabbath (Ex. 20:8). It was not a suggestion.
28. The Sabbath commemorates the time when Jesus made the earth to be suitable for man.
29. The Son of Man, Jesus, declared Himself to be Divine Master of the Sabbath (Mark 2:27-28). He would set the rules.
30. The Sabbath keeper is an example or light of the Excellency of God since this day is the key to all divine majesties. Jesus says, in essence, "I will meet you in this day. My Excellency will be yours."
31. The Sabbath keeper is able to claim the righteousness of God. The one who knows about the Sabbath in full conviction yet refuses to keep it has no right to claim the righteousness of God.
32. Jesus said that the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath. It was made for man's weekly refreshing, to give him strength and revival for the following week. Since this day was ordained after man was created, he has no dominion over it.
33. The Sabbath is the day that Jesus was resurrected. It is a sign of resurrection power. It is the doorway out of death and a gateway to the first and best resurrection.
34. It is impossible to truly and fully know Jesus without the Sabbath days. He poured Himself into the weekly and annual Sabbaths. Otherwise they could not be called holy. We cannot fully grasp His holiness without keeping His holy days. Obedience pleases God and He rewards those who obey (Ps. 25:14; Ps. 111:10).
35. Jesus promises to be the Provider and Provision for those who keep the Sabbath (Exodus 16:22-30).
36. In obedience to the Sabbath commandment, all God's promises are "yes and amen." Seeking first the Kingdom of God (Mat. 6:33) involves keeping the very first covenant God made with man, the Sabbath.
37. The love of God is released in the Sabbath. We release love to each other by coming together in fellowship. We show love to the world because we call forth the Kingdom to come on this day and we, the salt of the earth, make ourselves "saltier" by what we learn on this day. We show love to Jesus by being willing to obey Him. We show love to our Father because He said that if we worship His Son we show love to our Father and He can pour out His love through us. Love activates the faith that brings forth the Kingdom of Love to earth.
38. Religious bigots show their hatred by hating the Sabbath and those who keep it. The bigots prefer the traditions of men to the commandments of God.
39. More persecution has come upon those who keep the Sabbath than upon any other group.
40. The fruits of those who love the world more than Jesus are made manifest by their unwillingness to keep the Sabbath.
Great blessings accompany Sabbath observance. Once the Sabbath is revealed in these last days and the Holy Spirit personally convicts Christians of this truth, the consequences of disobedience will become severe. All of the meanings of Exodus 31:14 will come into play. Death and all of its agents will have power over those who refuse to obey and they will be cut off from God's people. Death will reign in their finances and God will remove His protection from these people and their families. They will be unable to call on angelic protection.
Many who repent in these times of trouble and return to full obedience to Jesus will escape the Great Tribulation in a physical place of refuge (Rev. 12:14-17). Those who repent later will face the full wrath of Satan. They will face martyrdom in order to prove their loyalty to Jesus and His Sabbath, resisting the Mark of the Beast (Rev. 13:16-17) and accepting the mark or sign of God's end-time people, the Sabbath and the holy days (Ex. 13:6-9; 31:13-17).
Copyright 2008 Robert Bolivar Scott
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