Breach Builders Ministry
  

"And they that shall be of thee shall build the old waste places: thou shalt raise up the foundations of many generations; and thou shalt be called, The repairer of the breach, the restorer of paths to dwell in." Isaiah 58:12

 

The First Day of The Week

 

     In the preceding lesson we learned that the Sabbath of the fourth commandment is to be observed to the end of time. But throughout the Christian world, the first day of the week is regarded as the Sabbath.  It therefore becomes necessary to ascertain what Biblical authority there is for observing the first day.

 

Origin Of The Week

  1. How and when was the week created? Gen. 1:1-31; Gen. 2:1-3.

     The length of the year is determined by the revolution of the earth around the sun; the month by the cycle of the moon around the earth; the day by the rotation of the earth on its axis; but the weekly cycle is fixed by the command of God based on the period of time used in the creation of this earth and things pertaining to it.

 

  1. Has there been a change in this weekly cycle?

     The weekly cycle of seven days has its origin in Genesis, and is recognized by nations the world over. Pastor William Meade Lewis, a Seventh-day Baptist, has compiled a chart containing one hundred sixty ancient and modern languages. In each of these languages time is divided into the week of seven days, and each day is named or numbered. Of the one hundred sixty languages, one hundred eight call the seventh day a Sabbath or Rest Day. This goes to show that these nations once had in common a weekly rest day—the seventh day of the week.

 

Character Of The First Day Of The Week

  1. How was the first day of the first week spent? Gen. 1:1-5

 

  1. How has God asked that all other first days be spent? Ex. 20:8-11

 

  1. What are all days except the seventh called? Eze. 46:1

 

Relation Of The Apostolic Church To The First Day Of The Week

  1. How did the members of the early church spend the first day of the week? Matt. 28:1; Luke 24:1; Acts 18:1-4

 

  1. The first day of the week is spoken of nine times in the Bible. The first and only time in the Old Testament is found in Genesis 1:1-5. The remaining eight times are found as follows: Matt. 28:1; Mark 16:2, 9; Luke 24:1; John 20:1, 19; Acts 20:7; 1 Cor. 16:2.

 

  1. How many of these texts are records of the same event?

 

  1. How did Jesus’ followers spend the Sabbath that He was in the tomb? Luke 23:56

 

  1. What three days are clearly spoken of in Luke’s record? Luke 23:52-24:1

 

     In this Scripture three days are mentioned: the day before the Sabbath (the preparation day, Mark 15:42), the Sabbath, and the first day of the week. Here it is plainly stated that the Sabbath comes one day before the first day of the week.

     Sometimes it is said that there is no way of knowing which is the correct seventh day. The Jews of today, although scattered to the four quarters of the earth, will testify that Saturday, the seventh-day, is the Sabbath of the fourth commandment. The Roman Catholic Church respects Friday, the sixth day, in commemoration of the crucifixion, and Sunday as the resurrection day. All Protestant churches respect Sunday as the day on which Christ rose. Thus we have the testimony of these large religious bodies bearing witness to the fact that Christ was crucified on the day we now called Friday and that He rose on Sunday. Luke tells us that the day between the crucifixion day and the resurrection day is the Sabbath.

 

  1. The four gospels were written from thirty to sixty years after the resurrection, and each author makes a distinction between the Sabbath and the first day of the week. Hence, as late as 96 A.D. no sacredness was attached to the first day of the week. Reread Matt. 28:1; Mark 15:42-16:2; Luke 23:56; 24:1; John 19:31-20:1.

 

Principal texts: Matt. 28:1; Luke 23:51-24:1; Acts 20:7.

 

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Send electronic mail to support@breachbuilders.org with questions or comments about this Ministry or web site. For immediate support call (toll-free) 1-866-build-sda (284-5373) or write Breach Builders Ministry, P.O. Box 3822 Riverside Ca. 92519. Breach Builders Ministry Last modified: December 14, 2001