Unpop Culture

Sabbath Study, Part 36 In the book of Revelation, we find one more reference to the Christian Sabbath (i.e., Sunday). The Apostle John authored Revelation while on the island of Patmos, having been exiled there for preaching the gospel. Halfway through the first chapter, John gives the occasion of the book’s origin. I, John, your brother and companion in the tribulation and kingdom and patience of Jesus Christ, was on the island that is called Patmos for the word of God and for the testimony of Jesus Christ. I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice, as of a trumpet… (Revelation 1:9, 10) On the Lord’s Day . Believers have typically put the Lord’s name on practices He instituted: The Lord’s Prayer (which He taught us to pray; see Mt. 6:9-13). The Lord’s Supper (which He commanded to be practiced in remembrance of Him; see Lk. 22:19, 20; 1 Cor. 11:20, 23-26). The Lord’s Day (Sunday, which He evidently instructed His followers—probably during one of His ...

Sabbath Study, Part 35 The last post was admittedly long, and we covered a lot of material. Hebrews 4 is not the easiest passage to study, so I’ve asked Albert Barnes to help us by giving four application points. (Okay, Albert Barnes is dead, so I didn’t specifically ask him for his help. I am, however, going to quote his commentary, which I hope will serve us in applying a lot of what we have been studying.) ************************************* Learn hence, (1.) that heaven is a place of cessation from wearisome toil. It is to be like the “rest” which God had after the work of creation, (Heb 4:4) See Heb 4:4, and of which that was the type and emblem. There will be employment there, but it will be without fatigue; there will be the occupation of the mind, and of whatever powers we may possess, but without weariness. Here we are often worn down and exhausted. The body sinks under continued toil, and falls into the grave. There the slave will rest from his toil; the man here oppressed ...

Sabbath Study, Part 34 In Hebrews 3, we are reminded how, during their trial in the wilderness, many of the Israelites hardened their hearts through unbelief, leading the Lord to declare, “They shall not enter My rest” (v. 11)—i.e., the Promised Land. This sobering example from Hebrews 3 prepares the reader for chapter 4, where the author applies the principle of promised rest to the life of the believer found in Christ—and ultimately found in Heaven. Therefore, since a promise remains of entering His rest , let us fear lest any of you seem to have come short of it. For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them; but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard. For we who have believed do enter that rest , as He has said: “So I swore in My wrath, ‘They shall not enter My rest ,’” [Ps. 95:11] although the works were finished from the foundation of the world. For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way:...

Sabbath Study, Part 33 In 1 Corinthians 16, the Apostle Paul gives some instructions regarding another Sunday Sabbath activity: receiving an offering. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also: On the first day of the week let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come. (1 Corinthians 16:1, 2) As…the churches of Galatia, so you must do. It seems that a special collection was taken up at Galatia, and Paul is giving the Corinthian church instructions on how to go about doing the same thing, so that he might take the money to the poor among the saints in Jerusalem (see Rom. 15:26). His instructions for the Corinthians were the same as that for the Galatians, including not only the action to be taken, but also the day in which it was to take place. On the first day of the week. Paul is not commanding a corporate meeting on Sunday, he is assuming it. ...

Sabbath Study, Part 32 In the last two posts, we looked at several instances where Paul and other Christians sought evangelistic opportunities on the Jewish Sabbath. Acts 20 records a different kind of gathering: Paul and other Christians come together and break bread on a Sunday. Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight. (Acts 20:7) First day of the week. This phrase can be literally translated, “one of the Sabbaths,” leading some to believe that the Sabbath is still on Saturday and not Sunday. A helpful article by William D. Mounce (author of numerous books, including the bestselling Basics of Biblical Greek , and general editor for Mounce’s Complete Expository Dictionary of the Old and New Testament Word s ) helps us see otherwise: “Words are rarely simple; they are usually nuanced and sometimes idiomatic. The fact that every modern translation goes ...