Hidden Mystery of the 8th Day or what is known as the Lord's Day

[George]

Shalom everyone,

As a pastor in Israel, I'm often asked which day do I worship?  Do I worship on Shabbat (Friday evening into Saturday) -- or do I worship on Sunday?

The question comes up so often that I thought it be best to explain my viewpoint and why I do what I do -- and you can take it for what it is -- simply my humble opinion.

When I first became a believer, I attended many different churches and settings on a weekly basis as I was trying to figure out how there are so many variances of worship -- especially if we all have the same Bible.  

So even as we lead a congregation in Israel, I'm simply trying to re-create the 1st century ekklesia, which in modern understanding would be "church" but in the 1st century it simply means a body of faithful believers.

In the 1st century, the believers worshiped on Shabbat and there are many passages that refer to their worship on Shabbat.  So people believe it's a cut and dry then ... if the Jewish apostles celebrated on Shabbat then we should celebrate on Shabbat?   So for the biblical references of the Jewish apostles celebration on Shabbat are these ...

Act 13:13  And Paul and those around him sailed from Paphos and came to Perga of Pamphylia. And John left them and returned to Jerusalem. 
Act 13:14  But going through from Perga, they came to Antioch in Pisidia and went into the synagogue on the sabbath day and sat down. 

Act 13:42  And the Jews having gone out of the synagogue, the nations begged that these words might be preached to them the next sabbath.

Act 16:13  And on the sabbath we went out of the city by a river side, where prayer was usually made. And we sat down and spoke to the women who came together there.

Act 17:2  And according to Paul's custom, he went in to them and reasoned with them out of the Scriptures on three sabbaths,

Act 18:4  And he reasoned in the synagogue on every sabbath, persuading both Jews and Greeks.

So clearly we have the saints in multiple places worshiping on the Sabbath.

... continuing to the next post

[George]

So why do I celebrate Shabbat?  First of all, the apostles celebrated Shabbat and I celebrate it not in a "legalistic" way, but rather a celebration of my REST in the Messiah -- in the REST of who Yeshua is -- and how I'm resting in Him -- and not by anything that I have done! 

Also, if you look into the future ... you'll discover that we ALL will celebrate SHABBAT in the Kingdom!

For example, in Isaiah 66 it says -- 

Isa_66:23  From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.

When the millennial kingdom, and the Lord is ruling from His throne -- it's a unique day as described by Ezekiel.

Eze 46:1  “Thus says the Lord GOD: The gate of the inner court that faces east shall be shut on the six working days, but on the Sabbath day it shall be opened, and on the day of the new moon it shall be opened. 
Eze 46:2  The prince shall enter by the vestibule of the gate from outside, and shall take his stand by the post of the gate. The priests shall offer his burnt offering and his peace offerings, and he shall worship at the threshold of the gate. Then he shall go out, but the gate shall not be shut until evening. 
Eze 46:3  The people of the land shall bow down at the entrance of that gate before the LORD on the Sabbaths and on the new moons. 

So on the SABBATH -- the King will be clearly seen on His throne from all who are looking in!  What an awesome day!

So this is a GREAT reason to look toward the future ... and realize the significance of why we should celebrate SHABBAT and recognize that our REST is in HIM -- and that He is truly our SABBATH REST.

But is this the end of the story?  Nope ... you see when I attended many congregations as a new believer -- I play devil's advocate all the time ... and ask questions and did the research ... study the issue out in its entirety.

In my research, I discovered that the Apostles NOT ONLY celebrated Shabbat -- but they celebrated the 8th day -- or what was called the LORD's DAY -- which technically is SUNDAY.  They celebrated BOTH SHABBAT and the LORD's DAY!

... continuing on ...

[George]

You see, when I went to "Shabbat" meetings, they would repeatedly talk about how Constantine changed the Sabbath and that our Sabbath was stolen from our identity ... and this is TRUE!   You see, Constantine made a series of edicts -- one was the changing of the "sabbath".

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All judges and city people and the craftsmen shall rest upon the venerable day of the sun. Country people, however, may freely attend to the cultivation of the fields, because it frequently happens that no other days are better adapted for planting the grain in the furrows or the vines in trenches. So that the advantage given by heavenly providence may not for the occasion of a short time perish.

However, this change was easy to institute because for centuries, Christians were already celebrating -- the Lord's Day.  

While I discovered that Yes -- Constantine changed the Sabbath -- I also discovered that Christians had lost their understanding of WHY they celebrated the 8th day -- or the Lord's Day.  That there was a deeper understanding that was lost!

You see, the early believers celebrated ... BOTH Shabbat and the LORDS DAY!  Both had different and yet SIGNIFICANT meanings and symbolism that was lost!

So what Biblical proof do we have that they celebrated the 8th day? 

Act 20:7  On the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul talked with them, intending to depart on the next day, and he prolonged his speech until midnight. 
Act 20:8  There were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered. 
Act 20:9  And a young man named Eutychus, sitting at the window, sank into a deep sleep as Paul talked still longer. And being overcome by sleep, he fell down from the third story and was taken up dead. 
Act 20:10  But Paul went down and bent over him, and taking him in his arms, said, “Do not be alarmed, for his life is in him.” 
Act 20:11  And when Paul had gone up and had broken bread and eaten, he conversed with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. 

So here we see that Paul taught believers on the 1st day -- Sunday -- but they understood this as the Lord's day -- and I'll get into this after I post the Biblical understandings ...

Notice that the 1st day of the week -- was understood to begin as the Jewish people understands a day -- the EVENING begins the day -- and the AFTERNOON ends the day!  We realize this meeting took place -- Saturday night ... because Paul talked until -- DAYBREAK!

We also see in 1 Corinthians 16:2 -- 

1Co_16:2  On the first day of every week, each of you is to put something aside and store it up, as he may prosper, so that there will be no collecting when I come.

Notice that it was the 1st day of EVERY WEEK!

Finally, we read in Revelation -- 

Revelation 1:10  I was in the Spirit on the Lord's day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet

Here we see the mention of the "Lord's day" which you find over and over again in the Church Fathers. 

Now, the question is this ... did the apostles change the "sabbath"?  NO, the apostles NEVER changed the Sabbath!  Did the Apostles celebrate the Lord's day?  YES, they did!  

They celebrated BOTH SHABBAT -- and the LORD'S DAY for DIFFERENT REASONS!

... continuing on ....

[George]

I would post many references of the Church Fathers of their use of the "Lord's Day", however, people may claim that I am using their understandings as "Scripture" -- which I do not!  However, it's used SO MUCH in the Church Fathers, that they were looking at in the 1st century not a "celebration" of Sunday -- but a celebration of the 8th DAY!  

So what is the 8th day?  How does it all connect?  And what is revealed in understanding the 8th day!

So let's go through the mystery of the 8th day from the Bible.

Let's start with Circumcision.   We read in Genesis 17:10  This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. 
Gen 17:11  You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. 
Gen 17:12  He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, 

The day of circumcision is connected to the 8th day!  So there is a connection to the COVENANT -- and CIRCUMCISION.

Paul addresses the issue of circumcision later in Romans ...

Rom 2:26  So, if a man who is uncircumcised keeps the precepts of the law, will not his uncircumcision be regarded as circumcision? 
Rom 2:27  Then he who is physically uncircumcised but keeps the law will condemn you who have the written code and circumcision but break the law. 
Rom 2:28  For no one is a Jew who is merely one outwardly, nor is circumcision outward and physical. 
Rom 2:29  But a Jew is one inwardly, and circumcision is a matter of the heart, by the Spirit, not by the letter. His praise is not from man but from God. 

So Paul connects this circumcision of the heart -- to salvation!  Now let's go full circle and show another facet of circumcision and how it's connected to this circumcision of the heart!

In Joshua 4:19  The people came up out of the Jordan on the tenth day of the first month, and they encamped at Gilgal on the east border of Jericho.

Notice here, that when the children of Israel crossed the Jordan to enter the promised land ... it happened on the 10th day of the 1st month!

What happens on the 10th day of the 1st month?

Exodus 12:2  “This month shall be for you the beginning of months. It shall be the first month of the year for you. 
Exodus 12:3  Tell all the congregation of Israel that on the tenth day of this month every man shall take a lamb according to their fathers' houses, a lamb for a household. 

The 10th day of the 1st month ... the day the Jews entered into the Promised land ... was a connection to CHOOSING THEIR PASSOVER LAMB!

What happened much later on this day -- 10th day of Nissan?

... the triumphal entry of Jesus (Yeshua) ...

... continuing ...

[George]

So let's track this backwards -- the Passover -- was the 14th day of Nissan (Thursday) ... this is the day the Passover lamb is to be killed ...

6 days prior -- would have made it Friday ... 

John 12:1  Six days before the Passover, Jesus therefore came to Bethany, where Lazarus was, whom Jesus had raised from the dead.

Jesus would have been in Bethany on Friday.  Friday evening into Saturday evening ... Shabbat -- nobody would have walked .. it would have been a rest day.

Sunday morning ...

Joh 12:12  The next day the large crowd that had come to the feast heard that Jesus was coming to Jerusalem. 
Joh 12:13  So they took branches of palm trees and went out to meet him, crying out, “Hosanna! Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord, even the King of Israel!” 

So on the 10th day of Nissan -- before the Passover -- on the 14th ... Jesus entered Jerusalem!

The people would have been singing out of Psalm 118 which is the custom during the 10th of Nissan and the beginning of choosing the PASSOVER LAMB -- and this is the EXACT timeline of the events that took place.

Psa 118:14  The LORD is my strength and my song; he has become my salvation. (Yeshua) 
Psa 118:15  Glad songs of salvation are in the tents of the righteous: “The right hand of the LORD does valiantly, 
Psa 118:16  the right hand of the LORD exalts, the right hand of the LORD does valiantly!” 

The right hand -- right arm -- is connected to the Z'roah of the Lord.  You can read about the Z'roah here.

Psa 118:17  I shall not die, but I shall live, and recount the deeds of the LORD. 
Psa 118:18  The LORD has disciplined me severely, but he has not given me over to death. 

Already a picture of resurrection!

Psa 118:19  Open to me the gates of righteousness, that I may enter through them and give thanks to the LORD. 
Psa 118:20  This is the gate of the LORD; the righteous shall enter through it. 

Who is the GATE?

Psa 118:21  I thank you that you have answered me and have become my salvation. 
Psa 118:22  The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone. 
Psa 118:23  This is the LORD's doing; it is marvelous in our eyes. 

Already the connection ... 

Mat 21:42  Jesus said to them, “Have you never read in the Scriptures: “‘The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone; this was the Lord's doing, and it is marvelous in our eyes’?

Psa 118:24  This is the day that the LORD has made; let us rejoice and be glad in it. 
Psa 118:25  Save us (Hosannah), we pray, O LORD! O LORD, we pray, give us success! 

This is where they are singing -- Hosannah -- Hosannah ....

Psa 118:26  Blessed is he who comes in the name of the LORD! We bless you from the house of the LORD. 

What does Jesus (Yeshua) prophesy over Jerusalem after his entrance ...

Mat 23:37  “O Jerusalem, Jerusalem, the city that kills the prophets and stones those who are sent to it! How often would I have gathered your children together as a hen gathers her brood under her wings, and you were not willing! 
Mat 23:38  See, your house is left to you desolate. 
Mat 23:39  For I tell you, you will not see me again, until you say, ‘Blessed is he who comes in the name of the Lord.’” 

Psa 118:27  The LORD is God, and he has made his light to shine upon us. Bind the festal sacrifice with cords, up to the horns of the altar! 

The passover lamb has been chosen ....

Psa 118:28  You are my God, and I will give thanks to you; you are my God; I will extol you. 
Psa 118:29  Oh give thanks to the LORD, for he is good; for his steadfast love endures forever! 

... continuing ....

[George]

... so there's a connection -- to the Jewish entrance into the Promised Land ... and the triumphal entry into Jerusalem on Palm Sunday by Jesus ... both on the 10th day of Nissan.

Joshua 5:2  At that time the LORD said to Joshua, “Make flint knives and circumcise the sons of Israel a second time.” 

Woah ... after the Jewish people entered the Promised land ... on the 10th day of Nissan ... God tells them to circumcise themselves a 2nd time ... a FORESHADOW of a Spiritual Circumcision ...

Jos 5:3  So Joshua made flint knives and circumcised the sons of Israel at Gibeath-haaraloth. 
Jos 5:4  And this is the reason why Joshua circumcised them: all the males of the people who came out of Egypt, all the men of war, had died in the wilderness on the way after they had come out of Egypt. 
Jos 5:5  Though all the people who came out had been circumcised, yet all the people who were born on the way in the wilderness after they had come out of Egypt had not been circumcised. 
Jos 5:6  For the people of Israel walked forty years in the wilderness, until all the nation, the men of war who came out of Egypt, perished, because they did not obey the voice of the LORD; the LORD swore to them that he would not let them see the land that the LORD had sworn to their fathers to give to us, a land flowing with milk and honey. 
Jos 5:7  So it was their children, whom he raised up in their place, that Joshua circumcised. For they were uncircumcised, because they had not been circumcised on the way. 
Jos 5:8  When the circumcising of the whole nation was finished, they remained in their places in the camp until they were healed. 
Jos 5:9  And the LORD said to Joshua, “Today I have rolled away the reproach of Egypt from you.” And so the name of that place is called Gilgal to this day. 
Jos 5:10  While the people of Israel were encamped at Gilgal, they kept the Passover on the fourteenth day of the month in the evening on the plains of Jericho. 
Jos 5:11  And the day after the Passover, on that very day, they ate of the produce of the land, unleavened cakes and parched grain. 

... so in connection to circumcision ... is the connection to choosing your Passover lamb ... in connection to the Promised land ....

.... continuing ...

[George]

Now the number 8 has a significant value ... it's connected with RESURRECTION and REGENERATION ... and also connected to a "New Beginning"!

The Feast of Sukkot (Tabernacles) is a unique feast ... 7 days long -- and then the GREAT day of the FEAST -- the 8th DAY!

Leviticus 23:36  For seven days you shall present food offerings to the LORD. On the eighth day you shall hold a holy convocation and present a food offering to the LORD. It is a solemn assembly; you shall not do any ordinary work.

This is from my devotional series ... 

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During the feast of Tabernacles in Yeshua's (Jesus') day, the temple priests would set up four great lampstands with golden lampholders, which they would light with the aid of enormous ladders in the Temple courtyard. The lighting of these lamps began the celebration of the "Great Hosannah" (Hoshannah Rabbah, in Hebrew). The celebration went on in to the wee hours -- with music and dancing and rejoicing, while the beautiful lights lit up the night. Jerusalem was a breathtaking, illuminated city on a hill.

The following morning the Jewish people would recite the prayer for the eighth day of the feast -- "Be thou praised, O Lord our God, King of the Universe, who makest light and causes darkness, who makest peace and createst all: the light of the world as the treasure of life…" Yeshua said, "I am the Light of the world.".

God is Light, He loves light, He creates light, He sheds light, He desires light. Lamps with oil produce light, both for those who carry them and for those who see the light bearers. "You are the light of the world", He said. So the Lord also expects light from and His people. The light of God in our lives comes from His Holy Spirit, and oil has always been associated with the Spirit's ministry in the lives of believers. Burning oil produces light. If we are spiritual "virgins"because we are betrothed to one Heavenly Husband, we ought to bear His light in this dark world. Yet He has told us that some virgins will not have the wisdom to do it, so it is a warning to us; a warning not to quench the Spirit, but be filled with Him and be the light of the world.

 The great day of the FEAST -- the 8th day -- is connected to something else.  It's called Shemini Atzeret (7th day into the 8th day) and Simchat Torah (8th day) ... the torah cycle restarts -- and Genesis is read ... why?

Because there is a connection to the 8th day ... to regeneration ... resurrection ... something NEW!

The 8th day ... (the 1st day) ... but really the 8th day of the Passover lamb chosen -- the day after Shabbat -- hence Sunday ... we read this ...

Lev 23:9  And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying, 
Lev 23:10  “Speak to the people of Israel and say to them, When you come into the land that I give you and reap its harvest, you shall bring the sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest to the priest, 
Lev 23:11  and he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, so that you may be accepted. On the day after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it. 

The feast of bikoreem -- feast of first-fruits -- is celebrated on SUNDAY after the SHABBAT of Passover ... the 8th DAY!   The day of Yeshua's (Jesus') resurrection was the FEAST of FIRSTFRUITS ... connected to something NEW!  He was the FIRSTFRUIT of the RESURRECTION!

.... continuing ....

[George]

On the feast of firstfruits ... you start the counting of the Omer ... in preparation of Shavueout (Pentecost) ...

Lev 23:15  “You shall count seven full weeks from the day after the Sabbath, from the day that you brought the sheaf of the wave offering. 
Lev 23:16  You shall count fifty days to the day after the seventh Sabbath. Then you shall present a grain offering of new grain to the LORD. 

7 FULL WEEKS ... then on the 8th week ... the 1st day of the 8th week ... is connected to a RENEWAL ... the SPIRIT of God came down!  

So connected with number 8 ... we have so far ... circumcision, choosing the passover lamb, entrance into the promised land, the resurrection and now the outpouring of God's spirit!

So in 2nd Peter it says this ...

2 Peter 3:8  But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.

Now the common understanding in Judaism, is that the creation took place roughly 6000 years ago -- to enter into the 1000 year rest based on the 7 days of creation ... then what happens on the 8th millennial -- enters the New Jerusalem ... a NEW BEGINNING!

... so in the 1st century when the Apostles were celebrating the Lord's day -- it was in connection to RESURRECTION, RENEWAL, RESTORATION, and finally, a looking toward a NEW HEAVEN and a NEW EARTH!

So when people ask me about which day do I worship ... it's much more complicated than simply Shabbat and the Lord's day for me ... I personally celebrate BOTH days ... not because of any obligation ... but because I'm anticipating something.  Since I've started Worthy News for over 20 years, I've taken my entire weekend off whenever possible.

So this is my understanding of what I do and why I do it ... If you are interested ... simply do a Google search on the "Lord's Day" and the "8th Day" and you'll be blown away by the deeper mysteries of God!

So am I suggesting that you follow my understanding ... ABSOLUTELY NOT!  It's not a salvational issue!  As Paul said, 

Romans 14:5  One person esteems one day as better than another, while another esteems all days alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind.

And later he tells the church in Colosse,

Col 2:16  Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. 
Col 2:17  These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ. 

Paul says ... decide for yourself the understanding of the days ... and make your own decisions.  Don't let someone else judge you based on these things!  And the best thing ... all of these things ... are simply a shadow of something to come!

I probably opened a can of worms ... but ... this study hopefully will deepen your understanding of God's prophetic Word, His calendar, and hopefully a better appreciation of the plan of God in your life,

Your brother in the Lord with much agape love,

George