App
March 15, 2018
Dear Brethren,
Because of the upcoming Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread, we are sending you two CDs for March. One includes our regular messages; the other one includes the Passover Ceremony, The Night to Be Much Observed, the messages for the two holy days, as well as the messages for the Sabbath before Passover and the Sabbath after Unleavened Bread. These will give you plenty to listen to and study throughout the spring festival season. Each message is also available (as audio or video) on our main Web site, truthofgod.org.
Two Things God Commands Us to Absolutely Remember and Keep: Most of today’s Christianity “uses” the Bible, but they do not truly believe or live by every word of God. Thus, for the most part, they are totally unaware of these two vital instructions from God. However, many are aware of these teachings—yet they carelessly reject them, not realizing that they are vital for salvation! The result is that they can never remember to keep and observe them!
The starting point is to believe, obey, and love God the Father and Jesus Christ. We must understand that every word of the Bible is true—even “God breathed” (II Tim. 3:16). Scripture was given by God through His servants for our benefit—and God cannot lie (I Sam. 15:29; Heb. 6:18; Titus 1:2; I John 2:21).
The First Thing We Are to Remember is the Sabbath Day: The first account of the Sabbath is found as a part of the creation in Genesis two: “Thus, the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And by the beginning of the seventh day God finished His work which He had made. And He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it [He set it apart as holy time] because on it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Gen. 2:1-3).
Later, when God gave the Ten Commandments, He spoke directly to the twelve tribes of Israel from the top of Mount Sinai. They all heard the voice of God (Exodus 20:1-17). The Fourth Commandment—the Sabbath command—is found right in the middle of the Ten Commandments: “REMEMBER the Sabbath day to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter; your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your livestock, nor the stranger within your gates; for in six days the Lord made the heaven and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and sanctified it” (Ex. 20:8-11).
All ten of the commandments are listed together two times. The second listing is found in Deuteronomy five, where the Sabbath command reads slightly differently. “Keep the Sabbath day to sanctify it as the Lord your God has commanded you [meaning all the other commands God has given concerning Sabbath-keeping]. Six days you shall labor and do all your work. But the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall not do any work, you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your manservant, nor your maidservant, nor your ox, nor your donkey, nor any of your livestock, nor your stranger within your gates, so that your manservant and your maidservant may rest as well as you. And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and with an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day” (Deut. 5:12-15).
Subsequently, throughout the Bible, the Sabbath is specifically written about or spoken of hundreds of times, which means it is absolutely important. In fact, you cannot truly know God if you do not remember and keep the seventh-day Sabbath!
However, in justifying Sunday-keeping, Orthodox Christianity insists that the Fourth Commandment is part of what they consider to be an “obsolete” set of laws. Thus, they cannot remember and keep what they have categorically rejected!
Nowhere in the New Testament is there a “new commandment” for Sunday-keeping (in place of the Sabbath). In order for such a commandment to exist, Jesus would have had to say something like this: “You have heard it said in ancient times, ‘Remember the Sabbath day of God to keep it holy.’ But I say to you, forget the seventh-day Sabbath of God—and everything else He said in the Old Testament! That is the “old law” I came to abolish. As Lord of the New Covenant, I now command you to keep holy the first day of the week, instead of the seventh day. Through grace we are now at liberty to keep Sunday, the pagan day of the sun-god!’ ”
Obviously, neither Jesus nor the apostles ever taught such nonsense. But this is exactly what modern “Christianity” believes and practices. Catholics readily admit that Sunday-keeping was instituted at the behest of Emperor Constantine in 325 AD, contrary to all Scripture. The fact is, Sunday worship is a tradition rooted in ancient Babylonian and Egyptian religion. (I recommend you read Rome’s Challenge to the Protestants by Cardinal Gibbons in Appendix N of the Faithful Version, or request the booklet by that title; you may also request our comprehensive set of materials concerning God’s weekly Sabbath.)
Contrary to mainstream “Christianity,” Jesus upheld the entire Old Testament. Before He called the apostles and before the New Testament was ever written, Jesus quoted Deuteronomy 8:3. “Man shall not live by bread alone, but by every word that proceeds out of the mouth of God” (Matt. 4:4; Luke 4:4). Throughout the New Testament, we find Jesus and the apostles routinely observing the weekly Sabbath—as well as the annual feasts and holy days.
The Weekly Sabbath in the New Testament: Before Jesus came in the flesh He was the God of the Old Testament. Paul writes: “Great is the mystery of godliness: God was manifested in the flesh, was justified in the spirit, was seen by angels, was proclaimed among the Gentiles, was believed on in the world, was received up in glory” (I Tim. 3:16; also see John 1:1-14).
Jesus taught that He was “Lord” of the Sabbath day. Since He was the God of the Old Testament who created the Sabbath, Jesus emphatically declared: “The Sabbath was made for [the sake of man, or because of] man, and not man for the Sabbath; therefore, the Son of man [because He created it] is Lord even of the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27-28). In the Greek, the phrase “Lord of the Sabbath” is in the genitive case, showing that Jesus owns the Sabbath.
This means that no man has any authority whatsoever to claim or teach that God’s holy Sabbath can be or has been changed from the seventh day to the first day of the week! Any attempt to do so—past or present—only reveals a carnal, lawless approach to God’s Word and an illicit presumption of authority.
Because of the overwhelmingly Jewish context in which the New Testament was written, there is an underlying assumption of adherence to God’s Sabbath commandment. Hence, we see that in the New Testament observing the Sabbath was always kept-no question! But Paul gives this powerful reminder of our Sabbath-keeping obligation as Christians: “There remains, therefore, Sabbath-keeping for the people of God [Jew and Gentile]. For the one who has entered into His rest [the Sabbath is God’s rest day], he also has ceased from his works, just as God did from His own works [Gen. 2:2-3]. We should be diligent therefore to enter into that rest [we are commanded to remember the Sabbath to keep it Holy], lest anyone fall after the same example of disobedience” (Heb. 4:9-11). Israel was disobedient throughout their history; here, Paul’s summary of their disobedience is based on Ezekiel 20 and 22 (please carefully read both chapters).
Hebrew 4:9 clearly upholds the authority of the Fourth Commandment. The Greek word used here for “rest” in the KJV is sabbatismos, which means “Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance” (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). This definition is confirmed by other historical works: “The words ‘sabbath rest’ is from the [Greek] noun sabbatismos, [and is] a unique word in the NT. This term appears also in Plutarch (Superset. 3 [Moralia 166a]) for Sabbath observance, and in four post-canonical Christian writings which are not dependent on Heb. 4:9” (The Anchor Bible Dictionary, Vol. 5, p. 856). While sabbatismos is a noun, the verb form of the word is sabbatizo, which means “to keep the Sabbath” (A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). This is clear historical evidence that true Christians were observing the seventh-day Sabbath long after Emperor Constantine, who in defiance of God’s Word declared that Sunday was to be the “Christian” day of worship in 325 AD.
We find an astounding passage in Isaiah 56 that clearly predicts New Covenant Sabbath-keeping—linking it to the very promise of salvation. As a prophecy, the passage clearly applies to the New Testament Church. It shows that those who believe and obey God, who keep His Sabbath and His New Covenant, will have a place in His kingdom with an everlasting name (Rev. 2:17)—in other words, eternal life! “Thus says the Lord, ‘Keep justice and do righteousness; for My salvation is near to come [Christ’s return, bringing eternal salvation], and My righteousness to be revealed.
“ ‘Blessed is the man who does this, and the son of man who lays hold on it; who keeps the Sabbath from profaning it; and keeps his hand from doing any evil [which can only be accomplished by personal commandment-keeping].’ And do not let the son of the stranger [any Gentile], who has joined himself to the Lord, speak, saying, ‘The Lord has utterly separated me from His people.’ And do not let the eunuch say, ‘Behold, I am a dry tree.’
“For thus says the Lord, ‘To the eunuchs who keep My Sabbaths, and choose things that please Me, and take hold of My covenant [the New Covenant]; even to them will I give within My house and within My walls a place and a name better than of sons and of daughters; I will give them an everlasting name that shall not be cut off. Also the sons of the stranger, who join themselves to the Lord to serve Him, and to love the name of the Lord, to be His servants, everyone who keeps from profaning the Sabbath, and takes hold of My covenant [the New Covenant]; even them I will bring to My holy mountain [New Jerusalem]…” (Isa. 56:1-7).
In connection with the weekly Sabbath, God also commands us to keep His annual Sabbaths—His feasts and holy days. He calls them His “appointed times”—they belong to Him. In Leviticus 23, where God lists His feasts, notice that He begins with the weekly Sabbath as His first appointed time: “And the Lord spoke to Moses, saying, ‘Speak to the children of Israel and say to them, “Concerning the appointed feasts of the Lord, which you shall proclaim to be holy convocations, even these are My appointed feasts. Six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, a holy convocation. You shall not do any work. It is a Sabbath to the Lord in all your dwellings” ’ ” (Lev. 23:1-3).
Then, with verse 4, God begins to list His annual “appointed times”: “These are the [annual] appointed feasts of the Lord, holy convocations which you shall proclaim in their appointed seasons.” Then follows: 1) Passover; 2) the Feast of Unleavened Bread (for seven days; the first and seventh days are Sabbaths); 3) Pentecost, or the Feast of Weeks; 4) Trumpets; 5) Atonement; 6) the Feast of Tabernacles (for seven days; only the first day is a Sabbath); 7) the Last Great Day (also called the “eighth day” because it follows the seventh day of Tabernacles).
Few realize that the weekly Sabbath and the annual Sabbaths were given to Moses while he was on Mount Sinai during the first 40 days and 40 nights. This period of time began when God spoke the Ten Commandments, followed in subsequent days by other commands, statutes, and ordinances. In concluding this 40-day period with Moses, God grouped the annual Sabbaths with the weekly Sabbath—all as “appointed times” to be kept. “Speak also to the children of Israel, saying, ‘Truly you shall keep My Sabbaths [weekly and annual], for it [the keeping of them] is a sign between Me and you throughout your generations to know that I am the Lord Who sanctifies you.
“ ‘You shall keep the Sabbath therefore, for it is holy to you. Everyone that defiles it shall surely be put to death, for whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people. Six days may work be done, but on the seventh day is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death. Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed’ ” (Ex. 31:13-17).
Now you know the importance of remembering the seventh-day Sabbath—in order to keep it holy. This is how we know God and realize that He sanctifies us through Jesus Christ unto the fulfilling of His promise of eternal life. While keeping God’s Sabbath is of paramount importance, it does not mean that we are to neglect any of the other commandments of God. We are to keep all of them as an expression of our love for God. The apostle John writes: “By this standard we know that we love the children of God: when we love God and keep His commandments. For this is the love of God: that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome” (I John 5:2-3).
John also writes, “And by this standard we know that we know Him: if we keep His commandments. The one who says, ‘I know Him,’ and does not keep His commandments, is a liar, and the truth is not in him. On the other hand, if anyone is keeping His Word, truly in this one the love of God is being perfected. By this means we know that we are in Him. Anyone who claims to dwell in Him is obligating himself also to walk even as He Himself walked” (I John 2:3-6).
The Second Thing We Are to Remember is the New Covenant Passover: As with the seventh-day Sabbath, mainstream Christianity has rejected the true Christian Passover. Most Protestants and SDAs participate in what they call the “Lord’s Supper” on the first Sunday (or the first Sabbath) of each quarter of the year. Catholics celebrate the “sacrifice of the mass” every Sunday. In larger congregations it may be celebrated daily as well as several times each Sunday. These services or celebrations have no biblical support and ignore God’s plain teaching on Passover observance.
While the Catholic Eucharist is based on ancient Egyptian sun-god worship, Protestant and SDA observances of the “Lord’s supper” are based on a complete misunderstanding of New Testament teachings.
The proper observance of the Christian Passover is a vital component of God’s plan of salvation—and Jesus gave all the instructions necessary for its proper observance. Those keeping the Passover must be careful to do so exactly as Jesus instructed.
In the New Covenant Passover, Jesus is the “Lamb of God” set aside to take away the sin of the world (John1:29, 36). He alone is God’s perfect sacrifice for the remission of sin. Paul writes: “For Christ our Passover [lamb] was sacrificed for us” (I Cor. 5:7). The shed blood of sacrificial animals, of course, cannot take away sin (Heb. 10:11).
Believers are commanded by Christ to observe the New Covenant Christian Passover as a solemn ceremony held in remembrance of His sacrifice and death for our sins. At His last Passover, Jesus instituted the service in three parts:
1) Footwashing: At the beginning of Jesus’ last Passover, after He had washed the apostles’ feet, He instructed them saying, “Do you know what I have done to you? You call Me the Teacher and the Lord, and you speak rightly, because I am. Therefore, if I, the Lord and the Teacher, have washed your feet, you also are duty-bound to wash one another’s feet; for I have given you an example, to show that you also should do exactly as I have done to you. Truly, truly I tell you, a servant is not greater than his lord, nor a messenger greater than he who sent him. If you know these things, blessed are you if you do them” (John 13:13-17).
2) Eating the Broken Unleavened Bread: “And He took bread; and after giving thanks, He broke it and gave it to them, saying, ‘This is My body, which is given for you. This do in the remembrance of Me’ ” (Luke 22:19).
3) Partaking of the Wine: “And He took the cup; and after giving thanks, He gave it to them; and they all drank of it. And He said to them, ‘This is My blood, the blood of the New Covenant, which is poured out for many…. This do … in the remembrance of Me” (Mark 14:23-24; I Cor. 11:25).
The apostle Paul clearly taught the Christians at Corinth that they were not to eat a meal with the New Covenant Passover, and that it should not be called the “Lord’s Supper” (I Cor. 11:20-22). Thus, a meal is not to be eaten with the New Covenant Passover.
Partaking of the Passover in a worthy manner includes the following: 1) The proper approach, proper symbols, and the correct day and time; 2) A humble, loving, and repentant attitude; 3) Discerning the body of the Lord and trusting Him for healing; 4) Discerning the blood of Jesus Christ for the forgiveness of sins.
The Christian Passover Renews the New Covenant In Christ: In accordance with the promises God gave to Abraham, as recorded in Genesis 15:3-6 and 22:15-18, Jesus began the New Covenant on the Passover day. Therefore, in the Calculated Hebrew Calendar, the 14th day of the first month, the Passover day, can rightly be called the “Covenant Day.” Jesus established this “Covenant Day” by His instructions for this day and by His actions on this day. Thus, Jesus has made the “Covenant Day”—the Passover day—the day for the renewal of the New Covenant relationship between each individual Christian and Himself and God the Father.
This New Covenant relationship can only be entered into by the operation of the grace of God. God’s grace begins with the Father’s calling. Each individual must respond by repentance, baptism, and loving obedience to the Word of God. When these conditions are fulfilled, God the Father gives the Holy Spirit to the new believer. The Holy Spirit enables us to worship God in spirit and in truth: “But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth; for the Father is indeed seeking those who worship Him in this manner. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must [Greek dei: obligated, under divine compulsion] worship in spirit and in truth” (John 4:23-24).
What Jesus is revealing by these words is not a suggestion—it is a command! The Greek is most emphatic—our compliance is imperative! Jesus is revealing the only way to enter into a New Covenant relationship with God the Father.
This New Covenant relationship is offered only to those who are loving God the Father and keeping the commandments and words of Christ. This is the foundation of Christian faith by God’s grace under the New Covenant.
The only way to God the Father is through Jesus! He established the New Covenant with His own blood, and He alone reveals the one true way to enter into that special covenant relationship with the Father. He emphatically stated, “I am the way, and the truth, and the life; no one comes to the Father except through Me” (John 14:6).
Passover and the Feast of Unleavened Bread, 2018: This year, Passover falls on Friday, March 30, with the Passover ceremony being held on Thursday night, March 29—as the 14th day begins after sunset, as it is starting to get darker. Next, the first day of the Feast of Unleavened Bread begins with the weekly Sabbath of March 31—making it a double Sabbath. The last day of Unleavened Bread falls on Friday, April 6.
Brethren, we are praying that you will have a wonderful and meaningful Passover and Feast of Unleavened Bread. Once again, we thank you for your faithfulness in tithes and offerings. In spite of your circumstances, never forget that God the Father and Jesus Christ love you, have given to you of their Holy Spirit, and that you are being prepared for eternal life. Remember, our fellowship is with the Father and the Son (I John 1:3). May they continue to bless each and every one of you in every way. May you continue to grow in grace and in the knowledge of God’s Word as you worship God in spirit and in truth!
With love in Christ Jesus,
Fred R. Coulter
FRC
