I'm asking the question, "Does it matter which day we recognize as the 7th day?"
Strictly from a logical viewpoint, this could be equivalent to someone having class on Wednesdays, but showing up on Fridays, then saying "but I showed up!" Or it could be the same as as someone asking you to come over on Fridays, and you suggest Thursday instead; perhaps they don't mind... In either situation you are searching for the day that is most convenient for your schedule (that's why people plan after all). In today's society, it is more convenient to view Sunday as the Sabbath--its a social norm. However, I'm 99% positive it's not supposed to be about convenience. It would be convenient to lie sometimes. It would be even more convenient to steal. And it would have been extremely convenient for Meshach, Shadrach, and Abendego to pretend to bow down to the pagan god--but they didn't (see Daniel 1-3, if you are not familiar with the story).
In pursuit of an answer, someone offered this passage:
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath: Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the sabbath. (Mark 2:27-28 KJV)
This is spoken by Jesus to the Pharisees, in reference to the disciples plucking corn on the sabbath. If you read from Mark 2:24, the point Jesus is making is that there are times when need will dictate working on the sabbath. Alone, I think its hard to confirm what this means exactly--a number of interpretations could be force fitted to the passage, so I prefer to start from a different point of reference to avoid misinterpretation.
Steps to a Deeper Understanding
And these word, which I command thee this day, shall be in thine heart: And though shalt teach them diligently unto thy children, and shalt talk of them when thou sittest in thin 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 sign upon thine hand, and they shall be as frontlets between thine eyes. (Deuteronomy 6:6-8 KJV)
Here, we see that the commandments should be a sign on our hand and frontlets between our eyes. "Frontlets between thine eyes" refers to the forehead or suggest that the commandments be kept in view. The definition of frontlets can be found at the following sources:Merriam-Webster, Dictionary, Bible-History.com. So what does that have to do with anything?
Let's skip forward in time to see the connection:
And he causeth all, both small and great, rich and poor, free and bond, to receive a mark in their right hand, or in their foreheads (Revelations 13:16 KJV)
This is in reference to the mark of the beast or the mark of antichrist, that we are constantly told to beware of. A multitude of people are out claiming that this will be a tattoo of 666 or some micro-chip embedded inside the skin, but Revelation 14:9-11 confirms that receiving the mark of the beast is unforgivable. Those who receive the mark of the beast will be "tormented with fire and brimstone" and "they have no rest day nor night." Well a tattoo or a micro-chip can be forced upon you. All you have to do is knock me out and place the mark or chip where you wish while I'm unconscious--how can I be held accountable for that?
Notice how Revelation 13:16 parallels with Deuteronomy 6:8. God says that it is a sign (which is also a mark) on the hand and between eyes (or forehead) that you keep his commandments. Fast forward and you are told that the antichrist will have a mark (or sign) that people are to keep on their hand or in their foreheads. I'd like to point out 3 important things about this:
- Your hands are symbolic of action and your forehead is symbolic of your mind. You accomplish things and work with your hands, while you think and make decisions with your head. Therefore it makes sense that God would say you keeping His commandments would be a sign through your hands (actions) and your forehead (thoughts). It would also make sense that He would be upset if your actions and thoughts reflected the antichrist instead of Him.
- Many people in today's society use the word antichrist to mean opposite of Christ. They place this title on someone they consider to be the embodiment of evil. I often get the feeling people expect this to be a person who outwardly stands for everything Christ is against, but that wouldn't fool the masses as Revelations and Jesus state that the antichrist will. If you track down the Greek origin of the prefix anti (note: the New Testament was originally written in Greek), the definition is instead of, or in place of (source: Greek Origin). Satan is not just against God; his crime is that he wants to be God. He will try to take the place of God, just as the antichrist will try to take the place Jesus Christ. The antichrist will claim to be Jesus, he's supposed be fatally wounded just like Jesus, and rise again, just like Jesus (see Revelations 13:3). There are many examples of the antichrist being an imitation of Jesus (enough for a separate post actually).
- As you could expect from #2, there is also a "sign," or seal as the exacting wording refers to it, of God to be given to His people during the end times, which is also said to be in the forehead. (see Revelation 7:3)
We already know that the mark of God is keeping His commandments. Satan and the antichrist are trying to take the place of God and Jesus, but they don't want you to know that they've replaced the real God... They want to deceive you and mark you for their own. It stands to reason that Satan's mark would be a counterfeit of God's mark, after all, Satan is simply imitating God. Thus, following Satan or the antichrist's commandments would be the antithesis of following God's commandments and constitute the mark of the beast. Which brings us to the question, what are Satan's "commandments"?
The Switcheroo
As I mentioned earlier, people expect that Satan will appear with horns and tell you do what you know to be the wrong thing. In cartoons you always have the imagery of the devil and the angel arguing over what the character should do. Let me ask you, though, if you know it's wrong, if you can look at the Bible and clearly see that what you've been told to do is not of God, would you be fooled? The Bible says that most people will be fooled by the antichrist, and the fact that he takes over for a while proves that the majority will receive his mark. It's gotta be a really good counterfeit... Something you'd never question... Something that sounds God-like... Something very hard to see through...
In several of my posts I've been careful to make the distinction that Protestant churches and the Catholic Church have different commandments. In the last post concerning Sunday worship, I also pointed out that its the Catholic Church's commandments that reflect the change from "the Sabbath" to "the Lord's Day." So let's take a minute and look at these differences. For reference see Catholic Version of the Ten Commandments. The link provided is from the Vatican's official website and they've nicely provided the Biblical passages to the left of their interpretation. But do note that in the Deuteronomy column, the ellipsis (...) where they leave out portions, please refer to a real Bible to see what is missing.
The Differences
What we (Protestants, that is) consider to be the 2nd commandment: to not have any graven images or likenesses of that which is in Heaven, is missing. It's also part of that ellipsis that they conveniently put there to make their version line up with the Biblical version. I guess that explains why in Catholicism they pray to Mary's statue and such... I'd like to point out that Protestants have taken to placing "pictures" of Jesus in the church as well (He's in heaven, that would make it off limits according to the 2nd commandment). The next difference, is the wording of our 4th commandment (their 3rd), to keep the Sabbath day holy. The ellipsis here, mentions that God brought the Hebrews out of Egypt "through a mighty hand" and "therefore the Lord thy God commanded thee to keep the sabbath day." The final difference is that they split the 10th commandment into 2, so that it is still 10 commandments.
Seems legit?
You know at the height of the Catholic Church's power I would have been burned at the stake for pointing out this subtle difference. They would have excommunicated me from the church for "heresy" and since in Catholicism you need a priest to absolve you from your sins (wasn't that Jesus's whole purpose?) and read you your last rites (what? where'd that come from) before you die, that would be "damning my soul." You were supposed to do what the priests and the pope said, because for some reason they believe a man is infallible... Essentially, if you didn't follow their doctrine, you were ridiculed and ostracized, possibly killed (see the Inquisition). This is in fact what spurred the Reformation. Hmm....
Still seem legit?
Answers, But More Questions
So, keeping the commandments is the mark of God and at some point in time a counterfeit law will appear. Keeping the counterfeit commandments will be the mark of the beast... What we need to answer the question of Sunday worship, is if the counterfeit law replaces God's sabbath with a day for Satan and if that day is Sunday. We know one deviation from the Biblical 10 commandments, it's subtle, still seems Godly, hard to pin as the work of the devil. Are we already being fooled by some set of commandments--the Roman Catholic deviation or some other set? Or is it still to come? One question always leads to another...
(In case you're wondering, I already have an answer I personally believe. I just like to pose questions to inspire you to think about and confirm what you believe.)
