I grew up a regular Christian going to church on Sunday like 90% of you. Well I realized Saturday was the true Sabbath day, and been attending a 7th day Adventist church pretty consistently, I like how they attempt to follow the Bible almost to a tee. Also their vegetarian diet seems to be keeping ppl alive longer... But I also know Paul only told them not to eat meat if it OFFENDS your brother. Also Jesus said dont let anyone argue over the sabbath day.. Or something to that extent & I'm not fully convinced that Ellen G White was a true prophet. (Not even alil convinced)
If someone knows alot about the Adventist please share, positive or Negative. I'm open ears..
Thanks for your reply in advance.
It is always good to hear from the horses mouth. I am an SDA.
When Paul was speaking about not eating meat if it will offend your brother, he was speaking about meat that was offered to idols. 1 Cor 8 and 1 Cor 10 bears this out.
Many of the gentile converts who were weak in the faith still were struggling with this issue. Like the jews, they believed that any meat offered in sacrifice to idols was unclean and would offend their Gods whom some of them still regarded. The same could be said for the Jews who still practiced the offerings and sacrifices of the old covenant.
Paul was saying, it is better for you to not eat the meat around them if it would offend them. Some of them would not eat meat at all for fear that the meat would have been offered to idols, because such meat would be sold in the meat market. This helps you understand Romans 14:1 which talks about those who are weak in the faith and would eat only herbs and helps you understand why Paul said in 1 Cor 10:25 that whatever is sold in the meat market, you can eat because Idols and other God no longer have any significance and the early converts needed to understand that.
Concerning the Sabbath day, it was Paul who said to not judge one another in regards to the sabbath days. This is Colossians 2:16 but you need to pay attention to verse 14. Verse 14 says that the handwriting of ordinances were blotted out and nailed to the cross. If you don't know what the handwriting of ordinances is, they you can't understand verse 16 because it is because of this blotting out that the things mentioned in verse 16 loses significance.
The handwriting of ordinances refers to the laws of ordinances and sacrifices given by Moses which directed the entire sacrificial system. The sacrificial system was a pre-cross way of dealing with sin. Before Jesus died on the cross, when anyone sinned, they needed to bring their sacrificial animal to the priest and confess their sin over the head of the animal. The priest would spill its blood and take it into the sanctuary and make atonement for the sin.
The laws of ordinances states how this should be done. It talks about the types of offerings such as meat and drink offerings. It talks about special days for these offerings and those specials days were all sabbath days in addition to the 7th day sabbath. These additional sabbath days were therefore directly connected to the old covenant ceremonial/sacrificial system.
When this system is blotted out, those additional sabbath days connected in this system are no longer significant. Many of the Jews still honoured them and Paul was saying, that since it is not significant, you should not condemn those who still want to honour those days. Also notice that the KJV says sabbath days which is plural showing that there was more than one. Many of the other versions says Sabbath Day which would make you think it is the 7th day Sabbath which it is not. I would like to show you a connection.
Col 2:14 Blotting out the handwriting of ordinances that was against us, which was contrary to us, and took it out of the way, nailing it to his cross;
Col 2:15 And having spoiled principalities and powers, he made a shew of them openly, triumphing over them in it.
Col 2:16 Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
Col 2:17
Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
So the handwriting of ordinances was blotted out and all of the things it contained were a shadow of things to come. Now look at this.
Heb 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things,
can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
Heb 10:2 For then would they not have ceased to be offered? because that the worshippers once purged should have had no more conscience of sins.
Heb 10:3
But in those sacrifices there is a remembrance again made of sins every year.
Heb 10:4 For it is not possible that the blood of bulls and of goats should take away sins.
Hebrews states that the law had a shadow of things to come and directly speaks about the sacrifices that were offered through the law. This is the handwriting of ordinances. The 7th day Sabbath was not apart of the handwriting of ordinances, but were apart of the 10 commandments which were God's moral law.