Appointed time for the Lord's Sabbaths (part 2)

 

let us examine a few examples in the bible to prove that a day does not begin in the evening.

a. The Passover

With regards to the Passover, the children off Israel were asked that, every man shall take for himself a lamb, according to the house of his father, a lamb for a household. They were to keep the lamb until the fourteenth day of the same month. Then the whole assembly of the congregation of Israel shall kill it at twilight (of the fourteenth day). And they shall take some of the blood and put it on the two doorposts and on the lintel of the houses where they eat it. Then they shall eat the flesh on that night; roasted in fire, with unleavened bread and with bitter herbs they shall eat it.

They were not to eat it raw, nor boiled it at all with water, but roasted in fire --- its head with its legs and its entrails. They were not to allow any of it to remain until morning, and what remains of it until morning they were told; “You shall burn with fire. And thus, you shall eat it: with a belt on your waist, your sandals on your feet, and your staff in your hand. So, you shall eat it in haste. It is the LORD's Passover. For I will pass through the land of Egypt on that night and will strike all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, both man and beast; and against all the gods of Egypt I will execute judgment: I am the LORD.” They were further instructed saying; “And none of you shall go out of the door of his house until morning. (Exodus 12:6-11;22).

The children of Israel we are told, “went away and did so; just as the LORD had commanded Moses and Aaron. And it came to pass at midnight that the LORD struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, from the firstborn of Pharaoh who sat on his throne to the firstborn of the captive who was in the dungeon, and all the firstborn of livestock. So, Pharaoh rose in the night, he, all his servants, and all the Egyptians; and there was a great cry in Egypt, for there was not a house where there was not one dead” (Exodus 12:29-30).

My question therefore is, if at twilight (sunset) when the lamb was killed it was still the fourteenth day, In the night when the lamb was roasted and eaten, was still the fourteenth day, at midnight when the Lord struck all the firstborn in the land of Egypt, it was still the night of the fourteenth; The Israelites stayed in their houses until morning, and any portion of the lamb that remained until morning they were not to eat it, but were to burn it with fire. If all this transpired on the fourteenth day of the first month, how then can a new day begin at sunset or at midnight? 

B.  Days of Unleavened Bread

Days of unleavened bread we are told is on the fifteenth day of the first month, and it is for seven days, but unleavened bread must be eaten beginning with the night of the Passover, which is on the fourteenth day of the first month. Now if a day as most people have falsely assumed begins in the evening, this would mean that the night of the Passover would commence the first day of unleavened bread, but this is what the word of God says; “In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at evening, you shall eat unleavened bread, until the twenty-first day of the month at evening” (Exodus 12:18).

If one has to eat unleavened bread from the evening of the fourteenth which is the Passover, until the evening of the 21st day of the month, surely the night of the fourteenth cannot be considered as the beginning of the days of unleavened bread which begins on the fifteenth day of the first month.

c. The manna

The Manna was a sign to test and prove to the children of Israel that the Lord is their God. For thus the Lord said to Moses, “Behold, I will rain bread from heaven for you, and the people shall go and gather a certain Quota every day, that I may test them, whether they will walk in my law or not. And it shall be on the sixth day that they shall prepare what they bring in, and it shall be twice as much as they gather daily” (Exodus 16:4-5).

The daily quota was from morning until morning, as they were instructed by Moses saying; “Let no one leave any of it till morning.”

d. Day of Atonement

With regards to the Day of Atonement it is clearly stated that, the Lord spoke to Moses saying: “Also the tenth day of this seventh month shall be the Day of Atonement. It shall be a holy convocation for you; you shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire to the Lord. And you shall do no work on that same day, for it is the Day of Atonement, to make atonement for you before the Lord your God.”

This Day the Lord said is “a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings. It shall be to you a sabbath of solemn rest, and you shall afflict your souls; on the ninth day of the month at evening, from evening to evening, you shall celebrate your sabbath” (Leviticus 23:27-28, 31-32).

Although they had to begin afflicting their souls from the night before the Day of Atonement which is on the tenth day, no where it is stated that, the night of the ninth is the beginning of the tenth day. The rationale for beginning the fast on the night of the ninth is to ascertain that nothing is eaten of the Day of Atonement which is on the tenth day of the seventh month

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Appointed time for the Lord's Sabbaths

It is stated categorically, "From evening to evening you shall celebrate your Sabbath." But what does this terminology from evening to evening means? This terminology simply means that, the Lord's Sabbath is the period which stands between two evenings, and this is all in agreement with the word of God from creation. For from the beginning when God created the first six days of the week He said at the end of each day, “the evening and the morning were the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth day respectively.

But when it came to the seventh day, it is simply stating that; “And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made” (Genesis 2: 2-3).

There is absolutely no mentioned of evening being a part of the seventh day, and since the evening of the sixth day is part and parcel of the sixth day, and the Lord's directives concerning the Sabbath is to; “ Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days (including the evening of the sixth day) you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore, the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11).

It is clearly stated that on the sixth day God, made the beast of the earth according to its kind, cattle according to its kind, and everything that creeps on the earth according to its kind. And God saw that it was good. He also said; "Let Us make man in Our image, according to Our likeness; let them have dominion over the fish of the sea, over the birds of the air, and over the cattle, over all the earth and over every creeping thing that creeps on the earth. So, God created man in His own image; in the image of God He created him; male and female He created them. And at the end of it all, it is stated that; “God saw everything that He had made, and indeed it was very good. So, the evening and the morning were the sixth day” (Genesis 1:24-31).

So, the question is, in as much as the evening and the morning of the six day constitutes the six day, how can the evening of the six day, be the beginning of the seventh day Sabbath? And if a day as so many erroneously assumed begins in the evening, because the bible states that the evening and the morning were the first day etc., what then separated the six day of creation from the seventh day? And why was there no evening to begin the seventh day?

It is stated quite explicitly in the scriptures that in the beginning God created the heavens and the earth, and the earth was without form, and void; and darkness was on the face of the deep.” But what could have caused the earth to be in such a chaotic state when it is stated; “For thus says the LORD, Who created the heavens, Who is God, Who formed the earth and made it, Who has established it, Who did not create it in vain, Who formed it to be inhabited: " I am the LORD, and there is no other” (Isaiah 45:18).

The Lord Himself questioned Job and asked him, " Where were you when I laid the foundations of the earth? Tell Me, if you have understanding. Who determined its measurements? Surely you know! Or who stretched the line upon it? To what were its foundations fastened? Or who laid its cornerstone, when the morning stars (angels) sang together, and all the sons of God shouted for joy” (Job 45:4-7)?

What could have caused such a beautiful creation, which was formed to be inhabited, to be without form and void, and darkness covering the face of the deep?

It all happened because of the fall of the son of the morning from whom the earth was illuminated. For it is written; “How you are fallen from heaven, O Lucifer, son of the morning! How you are cut down to the ground, you who weakened the nations! For you have said in your heart: ' I will ascend into heaven, I will exalt my throne above the stars of God; I will also sit on the mount of the congregation On the farthest sides of the north; I will ascend above the heights of the clouds, I will be like the Most High.' Yet you shall be brought down to Sheol, to the lowest depths of the Pit” (Isaiah 14:12-15).

The fall of Lucifer, son of the morning brought darkness on the face of the earth, and so what we find inscribed in the scriptures stating, “And the Spirit of God was hovering over the face of the waters. Then God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light”, was actually a recreation of the earth. For it is written; “You send forth Your Spirit, they are created; And You renew the face of the earth” (Psalms 104:30).

The chaotic condition of the earth, which was without form and void, necessitated the renewal of the face of the earth, and so God said, "Let there be light"; and there was light. And God saw the light, that it was good; and God divided the light from the darkness. God called the light Day, and the darkness He called Night. So, the evening and the morning were the first day” (Genesis 1:2-5).

Let us bear in mind that when darkness covered the entire earth before the Lord said, “Let there be light” day and night were not in existence, the earth was in complete oblivion, things like seconds, minutes, hours, days, weeks, months and years were not in existence, thy became in existence when the Lord created light, and divided the light from the darkness, He then called the light day, and the darkness He called night;

Before then , there was no order, no daily cycle of twenty four (24) hours to complete a day, and therefore, after the Lord formed light and separated it from the darkness and called the light part day, and the darkness He called night, in order to complete the daily cycle and caused the evening which was separated from the morning to become amalgamated, in order to complete the daily cycle. And through this process, the evening and the morning became one to create the first, second, third, fourth, fifth and sixth day.

nd so, the statement “evening and morning” which seems to have so many people confused and bamboozled in believing that the day begins in the evening is preposterous.

To be continued
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Fourth corner stone of our salvation

Jesus Christ our Redemption
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our redemption because only in Him we have redemption through His blood the forgiveness of sins. God has delivered us from the dominion of darkness and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son, in whom we have redemption, the forgiveness of sins.
Redemption is not a one time process as it is commonly believed, it is an ongoing process. The one time process of redemption is, once and for all there is now an offering that can present the worshiper holy, perfect, and blameless in the presence of God. It is made absolutely clear that without the shedding of blood there is no forgiveness, and no one can say that I have no sin, or have not sinned. Therefore, “If we claim to be without sin we deceive ourselves and the truth is not in us. If we claim we have not sinned we make Him out to be a liar and His word has no place in our lives.”
But, if any body does sin, we have an advocate with the Father Jesus Christ the righteous. He is the atoning sacrifice for our sins, and not only for ours, but also for the sins of the whole world. If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness. It is the blood of Christ that (not purified as in the past, but as an ongoing process) purifies us from all sins.
It is stated quite categorically that the life of the flesh is in the blood: and God has given it to us upon the altar to make atonement for our souls; for it is the blood that makes atonement for one’s life. Therefore, the cup of the New Covenant which was instituted on the night before Jesus Christ was led to be crucified and became effective after His death, was part and parcel of the plan of the mystery hidden in ages in God.
According to the scriptures, a testament is in force only when somebody has died; it never takes effect while the one who made it is living. Therefore the cup of the new covenant of Christ’s blood became effective after His death and that was all part of God’s redemption plan for man.
The corner stone of our spiritual structure therefore is, Jesus Christ coming in the flesh, His death and resurrection, and His appointment as the eternal High Priest, and His flesh and blood as the food for God’s offering as the redemption price for our sins. For thus it is written; “God is the source of our life in Jesus Christ, whom He made our wisdom, our righteousness, our sanctification and our redemption; therefore, as it is written, “Let him who boasts, boast of the Lord” (1Corinthians 1:30-31).
It is the lack of, and improper discernment of the body and blood of Jesus Christ that is the cause of the believer’s weakness, sickness and premature death. We should therefore learn how to build our spiritual house on the chief corner stone, in view of God’s mercy, to offer our bodies as living sacrifices (as priests), holy and pleasing to God, which is our spiritual act of worship.
Priests must be holy to their God, and must not profane the name of their God, because they present the offerings made to the Lord by fire, the food of their God, they are to be holy. Priests are holy to their God and should be regarded as holy, because they offer up the food of your God. Consider them holy, because I the Lord am holy – I who make you holy” (Leviticus 21:6-7).
Our admonition therefore is; “Come to Him, the living Stone, rejected by men but chosen by God and precious to Him. You also, like living stones, are being built into a spiritual house to be a holy priesthood, offering spiritual sacrifices acceptable to God through Jesus Christ.”
People stumble because they disobey the message, which is also what they were destined for. “But you (believers), are a chosen people, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people belonging to God, that you may declare the praises of Him who called you out of darkness into His marvelous light. Once we were not a people, but now we are the people of God; once we had not received mercy, but now we have received mercy” (1Peter 2:5, 9).
All praise to the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who has blessed us in the heavenly realms with every spiritual blessing in Christ, who chose us in Him before the creation of the world to be holy and blameless in His sight. In love He predestined us to be adopted as His sons through Jesus Christ in accordance with His pleasure and will, to the praise of His glorious grace, which He has given us in the one He loves, in whom we have redemption through His blood, the forgiveness of sins, in accordance with the riches of God’s grace that He lavished on us with all wisdom and understanding. And He made known to us the mystery of His will according to His good pleasure, which He purposed in Christ, to be put into effect when the times will have reached their fulfillment” (Ephesans 1:3-10).
I think the time has reached its fulfillment. Therefore as obedient children, let us not conform  ourselves to the evil desires we had when we lived in ignorance, but just as He who called us is holy, so let us be holy in all we do; for it is written: “Be holy, because I am holy.”

The third cornerstone of salvation

The third cornerstone of our salvation is Jesus Christ our Sanctification.
Jesus Christ is the corner stone of our sanctification as a result of His resurrection from the dead, and His appointment as High Priest who lives forever and has a permanent priesthood. Therefore He is able to save completely those who come to God through Him, because He always lives to intercede for them.
Such a High Priest meets our need – One who is holy, blameless, pure, and set apart from sinners, exalted above the heavens. Both righteousness and holiness (sanctification) is a state which has been conferred upon believers because of the death and resurrection of Jesus Christ.  Hence we are admonished to “Put on the new man, created to be like God in true righteousness and holiness” (Ephesians 4:24).
As living stones we are integrated into the cornerstone of holiness by “God the Father who has blessed us in Christ with every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places, even as He chose us in Him before the foundation of the world that we should be holy and blameless before Him.” This spiritual state has to be perfected by cleansing ones self from every defilement of body and spirit, and making holiness perfect in the fear of God.
This necessitates our separation from everything that defiles as we have been instructed saying; “Do not be yoked together with unbelievers. For what do righteousness and wickedness have in common? Or what fellowship can light have with darkness? What harmony is there between Christ and Belial? What does a believer have in common with an unbeliever? What agreement is there between the temple of God and idols? For, we are the temple of the living God.
As God has said, “I will live with them and walk among them, and I will be their God, and they will be My people. Therefore come out from them and be separate, says the Lord. Touch no unclean thing, and I will receive you. I will be a Father to you, and you will be My sons and daughters, says the Lord Almighty” (2Corinthians 6:14-18).
Christ the cornerstone of our sanctification has called His people out of the world, and prayed to the Father on their behalf saying; “I have given them Your word and the world has hated them, for they are not of the world anymore than I am of the world. My prayer is not that you take them out of the world but to protect them from the evil one. They are not of the world, even as I am not of it. Sanctify them by the truth; your word is truth. As You sent Me into the world, I have sent them into the world. For them I sanctify Myself, that they too may be truly sanctified” (John17:14-19).
It is also by the authority of Christ our sanctification that Paul issued a letter to the church saying; “I have written to you in my letter not to associate with sexually immoral people – not at all meaning the people of this world who are immoral, or the greedy and swindlers, or idolaters. In that case you would have to leave this world. But now I am writing to you that you must not associate with anyone who calls himself a brother but is sexually immoral or greedy, an idolater or a slanderer, a drunkard or a swindler, with such a man do not even eat.”
“What business is it of mine to judge those outside the church? God will judge those outside. Expel the wicked man from among you” (1Corinthians 5:9-13).
A messenger of Christ our sanctification has issued a warning saying; “Come out of her, My people so that you will not share in her sins, so that you will not receive any of her plagues” (Revelatons 18:4).

Second Cornerstone of Salvation

2. Jesus Christ Our Righteousness
Jesus Christ is the cornerstone of our righteousness because His death fulfilled the righteous requirements of the law, by paying the penalty of sin in full, which is death, and conferred His righteousness to all those who receive God’s abundant provision of grace and of the gift of righteousness, and will reign in life through the One Man Jesus Christ . As the result of this one act of righteousness, justification which brings life, came for all men. As the scripture clearly states; “But now, the righteousness of God apart from law has been made known, to which the law and the prophet testify. This righteousness from God; comes through faith in Jesus Christ to all who believe” (Romans  5: 17-19; 3: 21-22).
This righteousness has not only been imputed, but has to be practiced as well, because we have been admonished saying; “you have been set free from sin and have become slaves to righteousness.’ And, “Little children, let no one deceive you. He who practices righteousness is righteousness just as He is righteous.” This act of righteousness is the only righteous act that can produce holiness, because, all of man’s righteousness is as filthy rags before God
This act of righteousness is to become slaves to God as priests, to offer to Him His food for His offerings at its appointed time, and having become slaves to God, the benefit we reap leads to holiness, and the result is everlasting life.
With regards to this righteousness the apostle Paul wrote concernng Israel saying; "Brethren, my heart's desire and prayer to God for Israel is that they may be saved. For I bear them witness that they have a zeal for God, but not according to knowledge. For they being ignorant of God's righteousness, and seeking to establish their own righteousness, have not submitted to the righteousness of God. For Christ is the end of the law for righteousness to everyone who believes" (Romans 10:1-4).
The cornerstone of our righteousness therefore, is the act of righteousness which Jesus Christ did which resulted in the justification of life, and He, now being seated at the right hand of the Father interceding on our behalf.