I don’t want to go to heaven when I die or when Jesus Returns!
Someone asked me once, “are you sure you’re going to heaven when you die or if Jesus returns today?”
My answer was, “I don’t want to go to heaven when I die or when Jesus Return!”
This was a shocking answer; I got a “What?” shout.
In your life time, you’ve probably asked by many or even by yourself, “Will I go to heaven?” And what when I die or about my loved ones: will they and I go to heaven? What will happen to us after we die? These are perhaps the most important questions we could ask; after all, we are dealing with an eternal issue here. Really!
The churches use two brainwashing technics to scare people and turn God into someone who didn’t know what he was doing:
But God did know what He was doing and he will decide man’s fate, so we’ll use God’s Word – the Bible – as our source of information about what will happen to us after we die.
The power of words
Jesus is the logos or the WORD but I’ll use His word—the scriptures and will refer to them as often as needed; just as He did when He was teaching. Along the way we’ll explore, ask a few questions and answer then using the scriptures that I believe you’ll find interesting. So let’s get started.
Isn’t a true good person actually goes to heaven and bad person goes to hell after death?
The answer is absolutely NO. The scripture shows that after death and burial our bodies remain in the grave awaiting resurrection. Whether we are good or bad, our bodies remain buried in state called sleep; as there is no record of the bodies of good people disappearing from graves. The only case of that sort is Jesus! And there is no record of the bodies of evil person disappearing to a fiery hell, or someplace like that. So what really happens after we die and are buried? The scripture answers this question in the following verses:
John 5:28, 29:
Marvel not at this: for the hour is coming, in the which all that are in the graves shall hear his voice, And shall come forth; they that have done good, unto the resurrection of life; and they that have done evil, unto the resurrection of damnation.
Danie12:2
And many of those who sleep in the dust of the earth shall awake, some to everlasting life, and some to shame and everlasting contempt.
According to these texts, all who have died will remain dead in their graves until the time appointed for their resurrection. A resurrection from the grave comes first; eternal life is given only after a resurrection from the grave! After their resurrection, some will receive eternal life and others will not. By the way, please note that Jesus did not say anything about souls leaving the dead. Nor did he say anything about going to heaven. Sometimes we can learn a lot about our assumptions by realizing what a scripture doesn’t say…
The Bible shows that those who are in their graves are not in any way alive in “spirit” or in “soul.” The dead have absolutely no consciousness of any kind. The Bible confirms this in Ecclesiastes 9:5: “For the living know that they shall die: but the dead know not any thing.” Upon death, consciousness or awareness stops. While they are dead, the dead have no consciousness whatsoever. In fact, they will have no consciousness or awareness until they are resurrected; only then will their consciousness and awareness be returned to them. There is no mention of a soul or spirit of a person somehow continuing consciousness after death.
So far we’ve answered at least part of the question “Will you go to heaven when you die?” The answer is no: when you die you’ll remain dead, waiting for your resurrection from the grave. Shortly I’ll show you more scriptures that confirm this.
Consider this question: if it were true that we go to heaven when we die then what possible need would there be for a resurrection from the dead? Imagine for a moment that you’ve died, gone to heaven and have eternal life… now what would you need a resurrection for?
Clearly the popular belief that you’ll go to heaven when you die is in conflict with what the Bible teaches: we must await a resurrection after we die, and only after that resurrection can we receive eternal life. Will you go to heaven when you die?
The apostle Peter spoke about the afterlife in Acts chapter 2 verses 29 and 34, where he noted that David – “a man after God’s own heart” – still remained in the tomb and had not ascended to heaven:
Men and brethren, let me freely speak unto you of the patriarch David that he is both dead and buried, and his sepulchre is with us unto this day… For David is not ascended into the heavens…
The fact that David had not ascended into heaven serves to affirm what we’ve learned so far: we don’t go to heaven when we die; rather, we wait for a resurrection from the grave. David was still in his tomb waiting for his resurrection. And note that Peter did not say anything about a soul or spirit of David being in heaven. David had not ascended to heaven, in any form. This demonstrates that the good don’t somehow get to heaven even though their bodies remain in the grave. The dead remain in the grave, and they “know not any thing” until their resurrection.
This also raises an interesting question. We have seen that the body of David was still in his tomb… what about other great men such as Abraham, Moses and the prophets – were they still in the grave too? Had any of them ascended to heaven? Jesus spoke about going to heaven, and what He said may surprise you. Speaking of all righteous men, Jesus said that none of them had gone to heaven. Neither Abraham, nor Moses, nor David, nor any of the prophets like Daniel, Isaiah, Jeremiah, Ezekiel or Elijah had gone to heaven. Here’s what Jesus said, as recorded in John 3:13:
And no man hath ascended up to heaven, but he that came down from heaven [referring to Himself], even the Son of man which is in heaven.
That may come as a surprise if you believed that people such as Moses and David are in heaven. But now we know this much: at the time Jesus spoke the verse above, none of the people like David had gone to heaven. Their bodies were still in the grave. They had not yet received the promised resurrection. Among all that have died there is no one who has received eternal life, except for Jesus, who was resurrected: to eternal, immortal life. The apostle Paul confirmed this when he described Jesus as:
…the blessed and only Potentate, the King of kings and Lord of lords, who alone has immortality, dwelling in unapproachable light, whom no man has seen or can see, to whom [be] honor and everlasting power. Amen. (1 Timothy 6:15,16 NKJV)
There is no promise anywhere in the Bible that you will go to heaven for eternal life. I’m serious. Search your Bible cover to cover; there is not even one verse that says you can or will have eternal life in heaven. That may seem shocking, even heretical, but the Bible simply does not promise eternal life in heaven for any of us. The Bible, of course, does promise eternal life but it never – anywhere – says eternal life will be in heaven. The Bible does show where eternal life will be spent, and it is not in heaven. I’ll show you the scriptures about this shortly. First, though, I want to give you a few more examples of the early Christians’ belief in a resurrection from the dead at a particular time in the future.
The apostle Paul, in a letter to the Corinthian church, gave more details about the resurrection of the faithful, showing that their resurrection from “sleep” (death) would occur at “the last trump” meaning at the return – the second coming – of Christ to the earth. First, Paul explained that some believers would be alive at the time of Jesus’ return. Then they, along with those just resurrected, would receive immortality: eternal life. Here’s what Paul wrote:
Behold, I show you a mystery; We shall not all sleep, but we shall all be changed, In a moment, in the twinkling of an eye, at the last trump: for the trumpet shall sound, and the dead shall be raised incorruptible, and we shall be changed. For this corruptible must put on incorruption, and this mortal must put on immortality. (I Corinthians 15:51-53)
In another letter, Paul again showed that the faithful who had died would be resurrected at the return of Christ, and that the faithful who were alive at Jesus’ return would not somehow preclude them or take their place:
But I would not have you to be ignorant (but we are still ignorant), brethren, concerning them which are asleep, that ye sorrow not, even as others which have no hope. For if we believe that Jesus died and rose again, even so them also which sleep in Jesus will God bring with him. For this we say unto you by the word of the Lord, that we which are alive and remain unto the coming of the Lord shall not prevent them which are asleep. For the Lord himself shall descend from heaven with a shout, with the voice of the archangel, and with the trump of God: and the dead in Christ shall rise first: Then we which are alive and remain shall be caught up together with them in the clouds, to meet the Lord in the air: and so shall we ever be with the Lord. (1 Thessalonians 4:13-17)
Consider the account of Jesus’ resurrection of Lazarus. Jesus had previously taught Lazarus and his sisters Martha and Mary about a future resurrection of the faithful. Just before He resurrected Lazarus, Jesus reminded Martha of the resurrection to come. Note Martha’s response:
Jesus saith unto her, Thy brother shall rise again. Martha saith unto him, I know that he shall rise again in the resurrection at the last day. (John 11:23,24)
Martha said nothing about going to heaven: she understood that the dead will wait in the grave for their resurrection “at the last day.”
Surely verses such as these make it clear that the early Christians did not believe they would go to heaven when they died. Instead, they believed they would wait in the grave until the return of Jesus, at which time they would be resurrected to eternal life. Paul called Jesus the “firstfruits”: the first and only – so far – to be resurrected from the dead to eternal life. Paul wrote that the faithful will have their resurrection at Jesus’ return:
But now is Christ risen from the dead, [and] become the firstfruits of them that slept… But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ’s at his coming. (1 Corinthians 15:20,23)
Some of you will immediately wonder about the Old Testament prophet Elijah: doesn’t the Bible say Elijah “went up by a whirlwind into heaven”? Did Elijah go to heaven? And what about verses like Matthew 5:12, where Jesus said “Rejoice, and be exceeding glad: for great is your reward in heaven”? And what about Paul’s statement about death saying he had “a desire to depart, and to be with Christ”? Don’t these verses show that we’ll go to heaven? It is easy to jump to that conclusion, so I will explain each of them in the next few pages of this website. But first let’s finish with the main question: will you go to heaven when you die?
Again the answer to the question is no, and now we have two reasons. As we’ve already seen, when we die we will remain dead, waiting for our promised resurrection from the grave. We won’t go anywhere until we are resurrected. The second reason is that there is no promise of eternal life in heaven. Instead, what God has promised is eternal life in paradise, on a recreated Earth, in the “holy city, new Jerusalem” that comes “down from God out of heaven.” This is stated in the Bible, in Revelation 21:1-5:
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea. And I John saw the holy city, new Jerusalem, coming down from God out of heaven, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband. And I heard a great voice out of heaven saying, Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and he will dwell with them, and they shall be his people, and God himself shall be with them, and be their God. And God shall wipe away all tears from their eyes; and there shall be no more death, neither sorrow, nor crying, neither shall there be any more pain: for the former things are passed away. And he that sat upon the throne said, Behold, I make all things new. And he said unto me, Write: for these words are true and faithful.
Why do so many believe they’ll go to heaven when they die? Many of us just believe what we were brought up to believe. Sure, it’s comfortable and heartwarming to believe in heaven. And it’s easy to believe, too, because you can’t readily disprove that someone has somehow gone to heaven after death. On the other hand, it is not so easy to have faith in God’s promise of a resurrection from the dead. After all, the bodies of the dead are obviously still with us, not yet resurrected. It takes faith and patience to wait for that promised resurrection. But God is able to bring the dead back to life. He has promised to resurrect us. He will keep that promise.
God emphatically says NO! No same sex marriage no matter how the law of the land defines it. It is called the ABOMINATION!
As Christians we need to make decisions that will change our entire life. These decisions are threefold:
This will be the beginning of an exciting journey towards our destiny, a journey that could take us to many nations around the world. These decisions could enable us to meet people who can help change us and bring new adventure and excitement into our lives.
There is power in making a decision. Everything that happens in our lives, including success or failure, begins with a decision. Our destiny is shaped by our decisions. The decisions we make today will determine our tomorrow’s, the future. For example, what we are today is the result of our past.
We may have decided to go to high school, college or Bible school, or not to. We may have decided to get married, have children, or not to. We may have decided to buy or to build a house, or not to. We may have decided to make a career move, go into business, or not to. We may have decided to get into debt, or not to.
Every decision we make has an outcome. The decisions we make, not our environment, will determine and shape our destiny. There are thousands of testimonies of men and women who have succeeded in life despite their limitations, poor environment and disadvantages. There are those who have become failures in life in spite of all the advantages they had. Our decisions, not our environment, will determine our destiny.
The WORD “SUNDAY” in the New Testament
I am going to talk about the word “Sunday” in the New Testament but before I do, I just want to cite an important text here to proceed. Nothing I will say or you will say can change the truth. The truth is the truth no matter our position! For myself, I’d rather be wrong with the scripture.
“For precept must be upon precept, precept upon precept; line upon line, line upon line; here a little, and there a little” Isaiah 28:10. What I mean by cited this text is simple. I am not trying to convince anyone not to prove anyone wrong. So please try to do the same because neither one of us is the Holy Spirit of Yahweh. Yahweh is the Only One who draws us to Him.
Many denominations as well as individuals have argued that the word “Sunday” appears in the Bible and it replaces Saturday each time it occurs. Since word has meaning, we’re going to look at the word “Sunday” mainly in the NT (since that’s where the argument sits) and what is its meaning would be.
Our search began by searching for the word “Sunday” in the New Testament but the phrase “first day of the week” instead is found in the New Testament. It occurs in about ten places including repetition in the same chapter but to be precise, it appears 8 places. Examining these eight texts will prove insightful.
I would suggest to go back and read Genesis chapter one and take notice the structure of the days of the week. How all starts with an evening and ends with a morning. This is extremely important for this study.
Also read Yeshua’s word in John 11:9 when Jesus answered “Are there not twelve hours of daylight? If anyone walks in the daytime, he will not stumble, because he sees by the light of this world.
Yeshua said there are 12 hours in a day, referring to the morning part of the day, and of course, there are 12 hours in the night part of the day to equal 24 hours. This is why he emphasis that he would be 3 days and 3 nights in the heart of the earth.
“What the word ‘Sunday’ has to do with anything?”
I am glad you asked! “Sunday” has nothing to do with anything really but some denominations as well as some individuals force it to have something to do with the sanctify day of worship—that is replacing the Seventh day to the first day. Like any other law that changed, there is an amendment explicitly denote the change and it bears the signature of the leader in charge. Conversely speaking, we must the same thing in the Bible, if the day was changed by Bible authority or by God Himself. Christians must find a biblical authorization whatsoever for replacing the Seventh Day to first day “Sunday.
Conversely speaking, we must find that authority in one of these ten places where the first day or “Sunday” mentions in our guide—the Bible.
Now for most Christians, they have no problem with the seventh days Sabbath in the Old Testament. Since non Israelites were not men, the Sabbath was not applicable to them. Most Christians would also agree that the Bible clearly establishes the seventh day of the week as the Sabbath up to the time of the crucifixion. Their argument is that at crucifixion, Yeshua nailed the Sabbath on the cross and replace it with “Sunday” or the first day of the week. Any reasonable and logical person would agree that therefore, there must be clear biblical authority for “Sunday” observance and unless we find it clearly and plainly stated in one of these then places in the New Testament. We should refute any teaching of that sort.
The first day of the week occurs only eight times in the New Testament (not to say the entire Bible). None of those occurrences mentions it as a holy day of rest or commanded worship. It never even says that Jesus rose on the first day of the week. If you can prove it using proper exegesis, I’ll you $1000.00.
Just a quick note, the word sabbath appears about sixty times as compare to 8 times for the first day of the week.
Since Mark is said to be the first gospel, I’ll use it as the first place to find the phrase “Fist day of the week (or Sunday).
Question: When did the women buy the spices?
Answer: They bought the spices after the Sabbath was passed.
Question: couldn’t they have bought the spices the day Yeshua’s crucifixion?
Answer: whether you believe Yeshua crucified on Wednesday or Friday, they could not have bought the spices on the day after.
Question: why you said that?
Answer: Simple! If it was crucified on Wednesday (the day of preparation), the next day is unleavened bread-a holy Sabbath. Neither buying nor selling is permitted. If it was crucified on Friday, Saturday is the Sabbath. Neither buying nor selling is permitted nor both day days ended with a sunset leading to the next day in question for the spices.
Question: if the women could not have bought the spices on the same day of crucifixion because it was too late and they had no clue that Yeshua was going to be crucified, they could not bought on Saturday, left alone Sunday, when then did they bought the spices?
Answer: the only day that was not a Sabbath and buying and selling were permitted was Friday which sits between the two Sabbaths-Thursday and Saturday.
Question” Which Sabbath was passed?
Answers: The annual Sabbath—the first day of unleavened bread, which fell on Thursday AD31. This high Sabbath as John puts it (verse 31 of ch.19), was indeed special because in it the lamb that take away the sins of the world is slain.
Note this, Mark tells us that the women bought the spices after the Sabbath was passed and I have demonstrated this Sabbath was on Thursday-the first day of unleavened bread. Then Luke who copied from Mark, tell us that the women came and saw where the body was lay “And they returned, and prepared spices and ointments; and rested the Sabbath day according to the commandment.” Luke 23:56
Question: When did the women go to the tomb?
Answer: All the gospels tell us they went very early in the morning while the sun was about to rise. This statement means that the actual morning of the day was about to begin. A day starts with an evening (12 hours of darkness) and a morning (12 hours of sunlight).
Question: was Yeshua coming out of the tomb when the women arrived?
Answer: Absolutely no. See for yourself what the text says:
Verse 1 of Mark 16 says “And very early in the morning the first day of the week, they came unto the sepulcher at the rising of the sun. Verse 3 And they said among themselves, Who shall roll us away the stone from the door of the sepulcher? Verse 4 And when they looked, they saw that the stone was rolled away: for it was very great.
Verse 5 And entering into the sepulcher, they saw a young man sitting on the right side, clothed in a long white garment; and they were affrighted. Verse 6 And he saith unto them (the women), Be not affrighted: Ye seek Jesus of Nazareth, which was crucified: he is risen; he is not here: behold the place where they laid him.
Take a look at the four gospels:
Question: I can see all the gospels say practically the same thing. Not one of the women saw Yeshua coming out of the tomb, how much more do I need to convince me that Yeshua was not resurrected on Sunday morning?
Answer: Tradition is a hard thing to break you must simply obey Yahweh’s word instead of the Catholic Church traditions, refute Friday burial and Sunday resurrection.
Question: What else these verses tell us?
These texts establish the fact the first day of the week or “Sunday” is the day after the Sabbath. There are few things to note here from this text:
This text, obviously, proves the same thing as Matthew 28:1. The Sabbath was still the seventh day of the week.
If you’re a true student, you must ask the questions, why the tomb was empty and if the tomb was empty, when did he actually came out of it (resurrected)? Don’t you just repeat or take what your pastors say and you should even repeat mine. Just study to show yourself approved. I am given you the “how to do list here.”
Obviously, to know when He was resurrected, you must know when He was burred. He must be resurrected 72 hours or three days later. I hope you have refuted and expelled the Friday crucifixion theory with no hassle!
Question: how do you know these verses mentioned above were not in the original writing?
Answer: If you don’t know anything about Greek, You can pull the text from the Strong or any Bible study tool, or simply see if your translation places the text (vv 9-20) in parentheses or at footnote.
Nonetheless, even if it were part of the original writings, we can find nothing here endorses or demands the first day of the week as the Christian Sabbath. Nothing here endorses nor demands it to be “the Lord’s Day. “We find nothing here that sanctifies nor blessed “Sunday” or says God made it holy. This may shocks you but it’s the truth, Jesus was not even resurrected on the first day of the week or “Sunday” Nothing here commands us to observe it like the Seventh Day. Nothing here sets it apart as a memorial of the resurrection, or for any purpose. It contains no command or example of rest on this day—no authority for observing “Sunday”. Why it’s so difficult for you to see this truth?
Not only this verse repeats Mark and Mathew’s account but also adds two points for you:
Mark tells us that they bought the species and Luke tells us that they had prepared it and brought it to the tomb.
You should notice that the Holy Spirit inspired this statement. God knew the Sabbath was not abolished, and inspired Luke write this statement approximately fifty years after the establishing of the New Testament church! God inspired Luke to say that the “rest” these women took on the Sabbath day was “according to the commandment”—a statement that would not be possible had the commandment been abolished.
This text, then, establishes “Sunday” as a common workday, and that, at the time of its writing, the command to keep the Sabbath had not been abolished. So far, all three, mark, Mathew and Luke mentioned the Seventh day as Sabbath and inserted the word “rest” in their writing. I hope you can see this fact.
Note that, John’s gospel is dated to AD 90–110 and he still Passover the day of preparation and still calls the first day of unleavened bread a “special Sabbath.”
Chapter 19:31, Now it was the day of Preparation, and the next day was to be a special Sabbath. Because the Jewish leaders did not want the bodies left on the crosses during the Sabbath, they asked Pilate to have the legs broken and the bodies taken down.
John repeats Mark, Mathew and Luke. This makes it uniform and conclusive to the fact that the tomb was empty when they arrived, thus makes it impossible to know the exact time based on these scriptures.
For those of you who claim this was a religious, we take a minute to examine this verse carefully if this is a service called to celebrate the resurrection. This was actually a Monday evening for the Jewish culture because each day begins with an evening.
It was Jesus’ first opportunity to appear to His disciples. For three and a half years, He had been constantly with them, on all days of the week. His meeting with them, of itself, could not establish any day as a Sabbath.
Were they meeting together to celebrate the resurrection, thus establishing Sunday as the Christian Sabbath in honor of the resurrection? The text gives the reason as to why they were together. “For fear of the Jews”! The Jews had just taken, tried, and handed their Master over to the Romans for crucifixion. They were afraid! The doors were shut and probably bolted because of their fear. In addition, they were there because they all lived together in this upper room (Acts 1:13).
I hope you can see it conclusively—they did not assemble to celebrate the resurrection nor a church service because they did not believe Jesus was risen (Mark 16:14; Luke 24:37, 39, 41). And there was no physical church established yet.
Nothing in this text calls this day the “Sabbath,” the “Lord’s Day,” or any sacred title. Nothing here sets it apart or makes it holy. Scripture gives no authority here for changing a command of God! Can you see that?
Eisegesis interpretation—The common idea is that Paul was holding a Sunday worship service.
Exegesis explanation—Note that the word “day” is italicized in the King James Version, meaning it was added by translators. The phrase should properly read…
“And upon (meaning going towards) the first of the…” The word “week” in the Greek is Sabbaton, or Sabbath, Strong’s Greek Dictionary. In Word Studies in the New Testament, “The noun Sabbath is often used after numerals in the signification of a week” (Acts 20:7 note). The Greek text behind this phrase therefore, literally reads “And upon the first of the Sabbaths.”
Ask yourself, “First for what?”
The verse refers to the first weekly Sabbath in the seven-Sabbath (seven-week) count to Pentecost. Paul was moved to give a message on this day. This occurred following a regular meal that the disciples had enjoyed on a weekly Sabbath, not “Sunday.”
Many assume to find a religious meeting on the first day of the week, but it was not a “Sunday meeting,” that is, a church service. Notice carefully, Paul continued his speech until midnight, and verse 8 says, “There were many lamps in the upper room where they were gathered together.” It indeed occurred after sunset, before midnight, thus on the first day of the week. This meeting and Paul’s preaching—at most, it was what we would consider today a Bible study—took place during the hours we now call Saturday night.
You must ask the question, what time they started to continue until midnight. The text
Think about this, traditionally, no church service in the evening until today. Very few churches hold service in the evening on Sunday and those who do, do it mainly for different groups of people. Work schedule prevent people from attending church service, therefore, the church accommodate by having an evening service. Check it out, go around the mega to midsize churches, you won’t find service. You may find another kind of meeting but not a regular church service.
The timing of the events in Acts 20 helps us to understand more clearly. Acts 20:7-11 describe several events of one night. Since the Bible, in both the Old and New Testaments, counts days as beginning when the sun goes down, these events began with a meal on Saturday evening after the Sabbath, which would have been the only evening on “the first day of the week.” Several translations, including the New English Bible, Revised English Bible, Good News Bible, The New Testament in Modern English and the Complete Jewish Bible, state unequivocally that this occurred on Saturday night.
Paul planned to leave the next day for another city, so he stayed and spoke long into the night. At midnight one young man in the congregation fell asleep, tumbled from the window where he sat and was killed in the fall. Paul rushed to the young man, who miraculously came back to life. After that, the group broke bread and ate again, talking almost until dawn. Paul departed at daybreak.
Once Paul has done speaking and talking all night, Paul the next morning walked almost 20 miles to Assos (see the map) to meet the rest of the people in his group who had sailed there (Acts 20:11-14). So rather than describing a religious service on Sunday, this passage actually documents Paul walking almost 20 miles on foot on the first day of the week. This is the details we have, which made it hardly a day of rest and worship for him!
It should be clear from subsequent verses that Paul and his companions treated this first day of the week, beginning at sundown, as a normal workday. Paul’s companions sailed around a peninsula from Troas to Assos (verse 13)—a distance of fifty or sixty miles—while Paul, afoot, walked overland more than 19 miles (verses 11, 14). His companions were engaged in the labor of rowing and sailing a boat while Paul was preaching that Saturday night. Then, at the break of day Sunday morning, he set out to walk from Troas to Assos—a good hard day’s work! He would not do this except on a common workday and you should know that based on Jewish tradition.
This scripture says nothing about anything being done weekly or customarily. It simply relates the events of this one particular first day Sabbath of a weeks leading to Pentecost.
The first-century church kept the Passover Supper once each year on the Passover (I Corinthians 11:24).
That “the disciples came together to break bread” means merely that they gathered to eat a meal. This expression was commonly used to designate a meal in past times (see Luke 24:30; Acts 2:46; 27:35 for further examples of “breaking bread). Scripture interprets it only as eating a meal, not as a Communion or church service.
Eisegesis interpretation—Paul is telling the brethren at Corinth to pass the collection plate at church on “Sunday, or in any religious service?”
Exegesis explanation—in reality, this passage is speaking of coming to the aid of Judean brethren who were suffering from personal distress, perhaps because of famine (see Acts 11:27-30). Notice the preceding verse, where Paul’s subject is established. He calls it a “collection for the saints,” not for “church,” and he has already given orders to the Assemblies in Galatia to help out the brethren in their plight.
He tells the Corinthians to store the gatherings (Greek logia) beginning with the first of the week (again, “day” is italicized and was added by translators). Paul wanted them to prepare the gifts beforehand “that there be no gatherings when I come.”
Take a look at verse 3, he says he will send approved men to take the goods to Jerusalem. If this were just a monetary offering, it would take no more than one man to deliver it to Jerusalem. These, however, were laborious gatherings of foodstuffs and other essentials that were to be collected and made ready on the first of the week so that Paul could dispatch it all when he arrived.
You should note that the church collection plate never was part of any religious meeting in Jewish history or in the primitive church. So you must ask the question, “where this practice came from?”
According to Christianity Today under the church history, it was added “After America ended state support of churches in the early 19th century; the collection of “tithes and offerings” became a standard feature of Sunday morning worship.”
This verse says nothing of the sort!
Verse 1 tells us what kind of collection is being made: “Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given orders to the churches of Galatia, so you must do also.” First, it is a collection—not for the preacher, evangelism, or church expenses—but “for the saints.” The members of the church in Jerusalem were suffering from drought and famine. They needed, not money, but food. To say this collection was a church service is eisegesis interpretation.
Paul gives no indication that this collection was to be taken up at a religious service. On the contrary, he tells the Corinthians, “Let each one of you lay something aside, storing up as he may prosper, that there be no collections when I come” (1 Corinthians 16:2). These contributions were to be “laid aside” and “stored up” by “each one of you” as an individual act, not brought to a church service and collected there. To say this is an account of a collection taken up during a Sunday worship service is to read into the Bible an unwarranted personal interpretation.
Notice that Paul had given similar instruction to other churches. He tells the Romans:
But now I am going to Jerusalem to minister to the saints. For it pleased those from Macedonia and Achaia [where Corinth is located] to make a certain contribution for the poor among the saints who are at Jerusalem. . . . Therefore, when I have performed this and have sealed to them this fruit, I shall go by way of you to Spain. (Romans 15:25-28)
It was not money really, but fruit that was being prepared for shipment to the poor saints at Jerusalem! The Greek word can also refer to grain, wine, and other produce that can be stored a long time without spoiling.
In I Corinthians 16:2, does Paul say they should give money at a church service? Not at all! He says, “Let each one of you lay something aside, storing up. . . .” This is not church service language at all. Note this! He is telling them to put something aside for a special use, to store it—at home! Why? Because Paul did not want to wait till he got there for them to go and collect the goods, he wanted them to do before he arrived. He wanted this gift for the Jerusalem church to be ready for shipment. The bottom line is, we can’t make the text say what we want it to say. Let the text interprets itself.
With this in mind, notice this, “And when I come, whomever you approve by your letters I will send to bear your gift to Jerusalem. But if it is fitting that I go also; they [more than one] will go with me” (verses 3-4). Apparently it was going to require several men to carry this collection, gathered and stored up, to Jerusalem. Conversely speaking, if it were a tithe or offering for the minister, or to spread the gospel, then Paul could have been enough to carry the money alone.
Don’t you think if it were tithe or money, there would be a collection in the church, and it were indeed a church service? But that is not what you see here, they have to “lay it aside and store it up” until Paul arrived. Collection in so called God’s church began in 19th Century, just the other day so to speak. In fact, even in the Catholic Church-the mother church, it is not customary before the 19th Century.
Traditionally and culturally, once again, the first day of the week is a workday for the Jews, a day for gathering fruit and food out of the orchards, fields, and gardens, and for storing it up. This labor was to be done on the first day as soon as the Sabbath was past!
Upon honest examination, not one of the texts speaking about “the first day of the week” sets it apart as a rest day. Not one makes it holy, calls it the Sabbath or by any other sacred title. In every case, the first day of the week was a common workday. In none of them was there a religious meeting and preaching service being held on the hours we now call “Sunday.” In none of them can we find a single shred of Bible authority for Sunday observance!
If you forgot everything, try to keep this in mind. The same instructions Yahweh (God) gave to man for the sanctification of the Seventh Day Sabbath, would have to be transferred entirely upon the first day week. Yahweh calls it “My Sabbath” and He “sanctifies it” and then “blesses it.” You also would see the phrase like “My Sunday” definitely! Any effort to negate the biblical instruction for the Seventh Day in favor of “Sunday” is an error of serious magnitude.
“Personalized Day, doesn’t God personalized ‘Sunday’ in Revelation 1:10?”
Eisegesis interpretation! —The term “Lord’s day” refers to “Sunday” (and Sunday worship?). This is called biblical sacrilege! This text has nothing to do with neither Saturday nor Sunday I bring it in this study simply because you bring it to refer to “Sunday.”
Exegesis explanation—the phrases “Lord’s day” and “day of the Lord” has nothing to do with neither Saturday nor Sunday. This phrase refers specifically to the day of Yehsua’s return at the final trumpet sound announcing His Second Coming. This is a day no one knows, even Yeshua in his human knowledge didn’t know.
Revelation 1:10 has nothing to do with “Sunday.” Nowhere in the Bible is there any reference to “Sunday” in connection with these phrases. The only passage in the Bible where the specific term “Lord’s day” is found is here in Revelation 1:10, where it defines the day of Yeshua’s return at the trumpet sound and the awesome events that surround it.
Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance lists a total of 20 passages containing the words “day of the Lord.” In each of them we find reference to the dreadful, end-time day of the Savior’s return to destroy the wicked on this earth. In none of them is any mention made to “Sunday” or its worship. Unfortunately, neither Seventh Day Adventists nor Sun Day worshipers can use this text to teach a day of rest. An example is Zephaniah 1:14-15, 17: “The great day of the Yahweh (Lord) is near, it is near, and hastes greatly, even the voice of the day of the Lord: the mighty man shall cry there bitterly. That day is a day of wrath, a day of trouble and distress, a day of wasteness and desolation, a day of darkness and gloominess, a day of clouds and thick darkness…And I will bring distress upon men…”
Amos 5:18 warns those who desire and look forward to the day of Yahweh (the Lord), saying that it is a day of darkness and not light. Paul writes in 1Thessalonians 5:2 that the day of Yahweh will come as a thief in the night. Joel 2:31 calls it “the great and terrible day of Yahweh.” Each instance speaks of the Second Coming of Yashua. It is the exact opposite of a day of quiet, enjoyable, Sabbath rest!
In conclusion, last thing I want to say is this and it is something for you to ponder. Just forget about me or anyone else. Take your time, use biblical tool of interpretation, invite Yahweh to sit with you though His Holy Spirit and go through each text to study them with questions and answer format. The last thing is the First Day of the Week as a biblical day of rest is Satan’s Counterfeit of the Sabbath Rest. Remember, Satan marmites everything Yahweh does.
This is a summary of the Sequence of Events
After having addressed all six specific scriptures that reference “the first day of the week” associated with the time of the Resurrection of Christ, we now present the overall timeline from Passover Day of A.D. 31, which occurred on the 4th day of the week, or Wednesday. The following 3-day-and-3-night span of 72 hours included a high Sabbath on Thursday (the First Day of Unleavened Bread) and the 7th day weekly Sabbath, which completed the span. Be sure to write out these timeline points along with the associated scriptures:
This weekly Sabbath occurring within the days of Unleavened Bread was when Christ was resurrected according to His own words. He indicated that no sign would be given except for the sign of the prophet Jonah—that he would be entombed for 3 days and 3 nights just as Jonah was in the great fish or whale (Matt. 12:39-40).
Three days and three nights from late Passover Day on Wednesday brings us to late in the weekly Sabbath. Christ would have been resurrected according to the only sign He had promised to give to prove He was the Messiah. Do you believe Him?
| The Seven Feasts of Yahweh |
So as we have seen, the first four feasts, (or appointed times), of Israel have already been fulfilled in the New Covenant. Three are yet to erupt into holy history.
FOUR FEASTS HAVE BEEN FULFILLED IN THE NEW COVENANT.
THREE FALL FEASTS ARE YET TO ERUPT INTO WORLD HISTORY.
So the Seven Feasts of the Lord are not just quaint little Jewish traditions.
Each of them has given or will give rise to seven blockbuster days in holy history.
Four of the seven already been fulfilled. There are three left to go.
Here is an overview of the situation so far.
………………………………………………… …………………………………………………
All these above are the Seven Feasts of Yahweh. As we can see, the next three events on God’s agenda are up ahead.
They are the fulfillment of each of the three Fall Feasts of Yahweh.
These three Fall Feasts will usher us into the Millennium of Messiah.
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT WAS INSTITUTED BY YHVH-GOD.
AND PROCLAIMED THROUGH MOSES AT MOUNT SINAI.
HE SET FORTH THIS “APPOINTED TIME” AS A STATUTE FOREVER.
Leviticus 23:26-32 (NKJV)
The Day of Atonement
26 And the LORD spoke to Moses, saying:
27 “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.
28 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.
29 For any person who is not afflicted in soul on that same day shall be cut off from his people.
30 And any person who does any work on that same day, that person I will destroy from among his people.
31 You shall do no manner of work; it shall be a statute forever throughout your generations in all your dwellings.
32 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.”
THE DAY OF ATONEMENT IS MORE THAN AN ANNUAL DAY OF JEWISH REFLECTION AND RITUAL. IT WILL EMERGE AS THE FINAL CLIMACTIC DAY OF ULTIMATE COVERING AND JUSTICATION. THIS FINAL DAY OF RECONCILIATION WILL COVER ALL THE RIGHTEOUS, BOTH PAST AND PRESENT. THIS EPIC DAY OF RECKONING WILL THEN USHER IN THE APOCALYPSE, THE UNVEILING OF MESSIAH.
The Day of Atonement is the 6th feast.
This is the most solemn day on the Hebrew calendar.
When it come into its climactic fulfillment it will be am event of epic, even Biblical proportions.
Because a blockbuster future Yom Kippur will become the last day of this present evil age.
For most people the Yom Kippur, a “day of covering” (for sin), or a Day of Atonement is just another obscure Jewish holiday. Our Jewish brethren celebrate this as a day for reflection upon deeds done during the past year and with that the hope of doing better in the next. The tenth day of Tishrei is a date on a Hebrew calendar of unknown significance to the heathen goyim, the gentiles. The Lost Ten Tribes, swaddled in materialism and paganism in the West, are still suffering from amnesia. They are having trouble remembering their God and where they came from. And even those who through the blood of Messiah have entered into the Commonwealth of Israel do not know about it yet. See Ephesian 2:1-13. They have their ticket to the mansions. So why should they study the Old Testament and reflect upon their Hebrew roots? And since most post-modern Christians now listen to men rather than searching the Holy Scriptures for themselves they have not considered the Day of Atonement. Nor have they looked in to discover what it all might mean.
But all that is destined to change.
The Day of Atonement is destined to be a global event remembered forever by all humanity.
Yom Kippur is destined to become more than just a Jewish day of personal reflection performed yearly,
More than a day of accounting and reconciliation with God and man celebrated at the end of every sabbatical year,
More than a day of economic and personal accounting at the end of every 49 year Jubilee cycle.
Yom Kippur, the Day of Atonement is declared by Moses to become a statute forever.
During the coming Millennium of Messiah it will continue to be all of the above.
But there is more!
Some stupendous future Day of Reckoning is destined break forth into world history.
Current human history under the rule of profane men will come to a screeching halt.
Yehoveh-God as Messiah will come down Jacob’s Ladder as Emmanuel, which means “God with us”.
And a future momentous tenth day of the Tishrei moon will mark the last day of this present evil age.
A future Yom Kippur will usher the world and its people into the Apocalypse, the unveiling of Messiah. Messiah’s righteous judgments await the wicked, both angelic and human, and those justified by faith in the ultimate atoning blood covering of Messiah who at His first coming was Israel’s promised Sacrifice Lamb and the Sufferin Servat the prophet Isaih spoke about in Isaiah 53. And so this is why the angelic rulers stir up the heathen gentiles to rage. (See King David’s song in Psalm 2). The coming Throne of David is the ultimate target of all humanistic, communistic, capitalistic, ecclesiastic, and monarchical anti-Semitic loathing and furor.
Oh yes, the Day of Atonement must take its place in eschatology.
And it will.
That Day, the Day of the Lord will usher us into climax of this present evil age.
Messiah will send the angelic grim reapers to pluck up the wicked. (See See Matthew 13:34-43.
After that on some day and hour unknown He will glorify His saints at the Resurrection-Rapture.
He will judge the nations at the Sheep-Goat Judgment.
Then He will establish His Millennial Kingdom here below, bringing this poor battered world that long awaited “Peace on earth”.
The Day of the Lord will be a time of ultimate shock and awe for those who have chosen to forget their God. Unrepentant evildoers will be carried off by the evil angels, the angels of wrath in that final grim harvest of the wicked. Then comes the ingathering of the Elect. This endtime harvest will be the most terrible and magnificent history this world has ever experienced.
IT APPEARS THAT THE FALL FEASTS STAKE OUT THE 70TH WEEK OF DANIEL. SOME FUTURE DAY OF ATONEMENT IS DESTINED TO WRAP UP THE FINAL HISTORY OF THIS AGE.
In the process of a study of the Fall Feasts the author made a rather startling discovery. As we can see laid out in the diagram below, the next two Feasts will almost certainly mark out the beginning and the ending of that awesome timespan, the 70th week of Daniel, and the final 7 years of this age.
The Fall Feasts of Israel Mark Out The
Timeline of The Final 7 Years of This Age.
The Sabbath is an everlasting feast!
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