What is the Lord's Day?

[prodromos]

Ok, now we're getting somewhere, now you are trying. How did that relate to the 7th day?

I posted this almost 20 years ago. I should probably polish it up a bit more but I need to get stuck into work around the house, so I'll post it as is.

We as Christians, from the earliest days of the church have always held Sunday, the day of resurrection as a holy day and have chosen it as our particular day of worship, setting ourselves apart from the Jews who remain under the Law and worship on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Our Lord's resurrection might be considered enough of a reason to change the day on which we meet together to worship God, but it turns out, like all things revealed to us by God, that this day is prefigured in the Old Testament, not as one might think, as the first day of the week, but rather as the eighth day, a new and eternal day where we leave the endless repetitive cycle of seven days and enter into eternity.​

​

Genesis 1:33 - 2:3 states that God had completed his creation in six days and then rested on the seventh. It is readily apparent, however, that God has never stopped creating since each new person who is conceived is a new creation. We did not exist as disembodied souls prior to the beginnings of our life in the womb. We also know that God is spirit and that He is omnipotent and cannot become tired from the work of creation. Tiredness is something of the flesh, not of spirit, so here we begin to understand that the seventh day of rest is something significant for God incarnate, since only flesh needs rest. Like so many other things that are prefigured in the Old Testament we must understand that there is a deeper meaning to the seven days of the Genesis account. They are a type of something in the future, or indeed something outside of our understanding of time entirely.​

​

We have already seen how the Sabbath, the day of rest, is of significance to the God-man, Jesus Christ. We know that through the whole of His incarnation, that is, His conception, His birth, His life of teaching and example culminating in His death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets. So how did He fulfill the Sabbath? It was certainly not through the keeping of the Sabbath on a week to week basis since Jesus continued to work on the Sabbath, healing people and teaching in the synagogues and the temple.​

​

Jesus was crucified on the "sixth day", Friday, He lay in the tomb for the whole of the "seventh day", the Sabbath, then He rose again on the "eighth day", the incorrupt, eternal, and unending day, the day without night following. Thus did Christ fulfill the Sabbath, when His flesh, through death, ceased to do work and so He did rest, having finished all His works of creation and salvation.​

​

It should be noted that the eighth day has particular significance throughout the Old Testament. Male boys were always circumcised on the eighth day after their birth, regardless of whether this broke the Sabbath. We are no longer required to be circumcised, rather we receive circumcision of the heart through entry into the eternal eighth day of the resurrection.​

​

The book of Leviticus has many references to the eighth day, regarding circumcision, sanctification of the altar (seven days of preparation, then its use from the eighth day and onwards). The day on which an offering is brought to the temple after a period on uncleanliness is again, on the eighth day after whatever was causing their uncleanliness had ceased.​

​

In the Septuagint Old Testament, it does not call the first day of creation "first", but "one", "one day", because the first day is a prefiguring of that Sabbath which is the preeminent one of all Sabbaths. It is an image and prefiguring of the day of Resurrection, which is the beginning of the "eighth day", the incorrupt, eternal and unending day. Therefore Genesis names the first day "one day", because it is an image of eternity. The psalmist also refers to the "eighth day" in the superscriptions of psalms 6 and 12, a day which is outside of our seven day cycle of time.​

​

On the Saturday before Pascha (Easter) we read the following in the church service: "Moses the Great prefigured this present day mystically, saying, 'And God blessed the seventh day'. For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest, on which the Only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works. Suffering death for the economy of salvation, He kept the Sabbath in the flesh, and returning again... through the Resurrection, He has granted to us eternal life, for He alone is good and the lover of man". (Matins of Great Saturday)​

​

The seventh day is the bridge that connects this corruptible world of the six-day genesis of all things to the incorruptible and eternal world of the eighth day, the day without end, the eternal day. It is the day on which God "rested from all His works" in death for the economy of salvation. It is day of the Great Sabbath, the sanctified one, on which the Lord finished all His works, those of creation and those of salvation. And having completed His union with creation, even unto death, on the Cross He uttered those last words: "It is finished", and He abode in the grave, "in the flesh, keeping the Sabbath". This is the blessed Sabbath that brought forth all of creation from corruptibility to incorruptibility and, "through the Resurrection, granted to us eternal life".​

​

"And the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole world of them. And God finished on the sixth day His works which He made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He ceased from all his works, which God began to do". (Gen. 2:1-3)​

​

Sunday is the day of the sun, the source of life, the first day of the week, and symbolically the first day of creation. It is also the eighth day, the day of the new creation, the day of resurrection, which initiated all creation to eternal life. The importance of this day to Christians was so great that they changed the name of the day to Kyriaki (of or pertaining to the Lord). The Christians in Russia named this day the Russian word for "Resurrection". In fact it seems that only in the West have the days of the week retained their pagan origins, being named after the Sun and the planets which were once thought by the pagans to be gods.​

​

Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 "And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord God."​

​

We do not transgress the Fourth Commandment when we observe Sunday, the eighth day, the day which prefigures the "new creation," since formerly, before the Incarnation, the primordial perfection of the creation of the world was commemorated by the Sabbath day of rest. By observing Sunday, we confess the new creation in Jesus Christ, which is of greater import and more real than the existing creation which yet bears the wounds of sin.​

 

[Adventist Heretic]

That never happened. It is a a variation on the Landmark Baptist mythological history of an underground church, propagated uncritically by Ellen G. White, who contrary to all historical evidence claims the Paulicans, Bogomils and Albigenses were not, when in fact they were Docetic, and also makes the same claim about the Waldensians, whose early beliefs were sufficiently aligned with mainline Protestantism that those who survived the genocide against them in Piedmont joined with the Calvinists in Geneva, and later merged with the Italian Methodists to form the largest Protestant church in Italy, which worships on a Sunday. There is also a Waldensian parish in the P

I posted this almost 20 years ago. I should probably polish it up a bit more but I need to get stuck into work around the house, so I'll post it as is.

We as Christians, from the earliest days of the church have always held Sunday, the day of resurrection as a holy day and have chosen it as our particular day of worship, setting ourselves apart from the Jews who remain under the Law and worship on the Sabbath, the seventh day of the week. Our Lord's resurrection might be considered enough of a reason to change the day on which we meet together to worship God, but it turns out, like all things revealed to us by God, that this day is prefigured in the Old Testament, not as one might think, as the first day of the week, but rather as the eighth day, a new and eternal day where we leave the endless repetitive cycle of seven days and enter into eternity.​

​

Genesis 1:33 - 2:3 states that God had completed his creation in six days and then rested on the seventh. It is readily apparent, however, that God has never stopped creating since each new person who is conceived is a new creation. We did not exist as disembodied souls prior to the beginnings of our life in the womb. We also know that God is spirit and that He is omnipotent and cannot become tired from the work of creation. Tiredness is something of the flesh, not of spirit, so here we begin to understand that the seventh day of rest is something significant for God incarnate, since only flesh needs rest. Like so many other things that are prefigured in the Old Testament we must understand that there is a deeper meaning to the seven days of the Genesis account. They are a type of something in the future, or indeed something outside of our understanding of time entirely.​

​

We have already seen how the Sabbath, the day of rest, is of significance to the God-man, Jesus Christ. We know that through the whole of His incarnation, that is, His conception, His birth, His life of teaching and example culminating in His death and resurrection, Jesus fulfilled all of the Law and the Prophets. So how did He fulfill the Sabbath? It was certainly not through the keeping of the Sabbath on a week to week basis since Jesus continued to work on the Sabbath, healing people and teaching in the synagogues and the temple.​

​

Jesus was crucified on the "sixth day", Friday, He lay in the tomb for the whole of the "seventh day", the Sabbath, then He rose again on the "eighth day", the incorrupt, eternal, and unending day, the day without night following. Thus did Christ fulfill the Sabbath, when His flesh, through death, ceased to do work and so He did rest, having finished all His works of creation and salvation.​

​

It should be noted that the eighth day has particular significance throughout the Old Testament. Male boys were always circumcised on the eighth day after their birth, regardless of whether this broke the Sabbath. We are no longer required to be circumcised, rather we receive circumcision of the heart through entry into the eternal eighth day of the resurrection.​

​

The book of Leviticus has many references to the eighth day, regarding circumcision, sanctification of the altar (seven days of preparation, then its use from the eighth day and onwards). The day on which an offering is brought to the temple after a period on uncleanliness is again, on the eighth day after whatever was causing their uncleanliness had ceased.​

​

In the Septuagint Old Testament, it does not call the first day of creation "first", but "one", "one day", because the first day is a prefiguring of that Sabbath which is the preeminent one of all Sabbaths. It is an image and prefiguring of the day of Resurrection, which is the beginning of the "eighth day", the incorrupt, eternal and unending day. Therefore Genesis names the first day "one day", because it is an image of eternity. The psalmist also refers to the "eighth day" in the superscriptions of psalms 6 and 12, a day which is outside of our seven day cycle of time.​

​

On the Saturday before Pascha (Easter) we read the following in the church service: "Moses the Great prefigured this present day mystically, saying, 'And God blessed the seventh day'. For this is the blessed Sabbath, this is the day of rest, on which the Only-begotten Son of God rested from all His works. Suffering death for the economy of salvation, He kept the Sabbath in the flesh, and returning again... through the Resurrection, He has granted to us eternal life, for He alone is good and the lover of man". (Matins of Great Saturday)​

​

The seventh day is the bridge that connects this corruptible world of the six-day genesis of all things to the incorruptible and eternal world of the eighth day, the day without end, the eternal day. It is the day on which God "rested from all His works" in death for the economy of salvation. It is day of the Great Sabbath, the sanctified one, on which the Lord finished all His works, those of creation and those of salvation. And having completed His union with creation, even unto death, on the Cross He uttered those last words: "It is finished", and He abode in the grave, "in the flesh, keeping the Sabbath". This is the blessed Sabbath that brought forth all of creation from corruptibility to incorruptibility and, "through the Resurrection, granted to us eternal life".​

​

"And the heavens and the earth were finished, and the whole world of them. And God finished on the sixth day His works which He made. And God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He ceased from all his works, which God began to do". (Gen. 2:1-3)​

​

Sunday is the day of the sun, the source of life, the first day of the week, and symbolically the first day of creation. It is also the eighth day, the day of the new creation, the day of resurrection, which initiated all creation to eternal life. The importance of this day to Christians was so great that they changed the name of the day to Kyriaki (of or pertaining to the Lord). The Christians in Russia named this day the Russian word for "Resurrection". In fact it seems that only in the West have the days of the week retained their pagan origins, being named after the Sun and the planets which were once thought by the pagans to be gods.​

​

Ezekiel 43:27-44:4 "And when they have completed these days, then from the eighth day onward the priests shall offer upon the altar your burnt offerings and your peace offerings; and I will accept you, says the Lord God."​

​

We do not transgress the Fourth Commandment when we observe Sunday, the eighth day, the day which prefigures the "new creation," since formerly, before the Incarnation, the primordial perfection of the creation of the world was commemorated by the Sabbath day of rest. By observing Sunday, we confess the new creation in Jesus Christ, which is of greater import and more real than the existing creation which yet bears the wounds of sin.​

so #3

 

[prodromos]

so #3

It isn't a replacement.

 

[Adventist Heretic]

It isn't a replacement.

so the sabbath remains.

 

[ViaCrucis]

you are going to have to prove the council was local and not universal because the effect says otherwise.

That's easy enough--no church regards Laodicea as an ecumenical council, and the gathering was local--only those from the province of Asia Minor met.

-CryptoLutheran

 

[ViaCrucis]

so the sabbath remains.

Depends. As instituted in the Old Covenant through Moses? No. But as understood in its fulfillment in Christ, and as a holy commandment from God about the importance of setting aside time for rest? About the necessity of hearing, gathering, and abiding in Christ through Word and Sacrament? Yes and yes.

Luther begins his treatment on the Third Commandment (or Fourth Commandment, in some numbering schemes) as follows:

"The word Feiertag [holyday] is rendered from the Hebrew word sabbath which properly signifies to rest, that is, to abstain from labor. Hence we are accustomed to say, Feierabend machen [that is, to cease working], or heiligen Abend geben [sanctify the Sabbath]. Now, in the Old Testament, God separated the seventh day, and appointed it for rest, and commanded that it should be regarded as holy above all others. As regards this external observance, this commandment was given to the Jews alone, that they should abstain from toilsome work, and rest, so that both man and beast might recuperate, and not be weakened by unremitting labor. Although they afterwards restricted this too closely, and grossly abused it, so that they traduced and could not endure in Christ those works which they themselves were accustomed to do on that day, as we read in the Gospel; just as though the commandment were fulfilled by doing no external, [manual] work whatever, which, however, was not the meaning, but, as we shall hear, that they sanctify the holy day or day of rest." (Source: The Ten Commandments )

Luther goes on to say that the emphasis is on the sanctity--the sanctity of God's Word and Sacraments. Luther expands that it's not about when, but that we come together, that we hear the Word, that we take seriously and to heart God's Word when we hear it. For Luther, the idea of a holy occasion being treated as mere ritual, as mere thing that is done for its own sake, is frivolous. There is sacred work--liturgy--to be done when we set aside time off from our regular labors.

"But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it [holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.

Secondly, and most especially, that on such day of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God’s Word, and then to praise God, to sing and pray." (Source: The Ten Commandments )

-CryptoLutheran

 

[Adventist Heretic]

That's easy enough--no church regards Laodicea as an ecumenical council, and the gathering was local--only those from the province of Asia Minor met.

-CryptoLutheran

what caused it to be called. something caused it to be deemed necessary to meet.

 

[Adventist Heretic]

Depends. As instituted in the Old Covenant through Moses? No. But as understood in its fulfillment in Christ, and as a holy commandment from God about the importance of setting aside time for rest? About the necessity of hearing, gathering, and abiding in Christ through Word and Sacrament? Yes and yes.

Luther begins his treatment on the Third Commandment (or Fourth Commandment, in some numbering schemes) as follows:

"The word Feiertag [holyday] is rendered from the Hebrew word sabbath which properly signifies to rest, that is, to abstain from labor. Hence we are accustomed to say, Feierabend machen [that is, to cease working], or heiligen Abend geben [sanctify the Sabbath]. Now, in the Old Testament, God separated the seventh day, and appointed it for rest, and commanded that it should be regarded as holy above all others. As regards this external observance, this commandment was given to the Jews alone, that they should abstain from toilsome work, and rest, so that both man and beast might recuperate, and not be weakened by unremitting labor. Although they afterwards restricted this too closely, and grossly abused it, so that they traduced and could not endure in Christ those works which they themselves were accustomed to do on that day, as we read in the Gospel; just as though the commandment were fulfilled by doing no external, [manual] work whatever, which, however, was not the meaning, but, as we shall hear, that they sanctify the holy day or day of rest." (Source: The Ten Commandments )

Luther goes on to say that the emphasis is on the sanctity--the sanctity of God's Word and Sacraments. Luther expands that it's not about when, but that we come together, that we hear the Word, that we take seriously and to heart God's Word when we hear it. For Luther, the idea of a holy occasion being treated as mere ritual, as mere thing that is done for its own sake, is frivolous. There is sacred work--liturgy--to be done when we set aside time off from our regular labors.

"But to grasp a Christian meaning for the simple as to what God requires in this commandment, note that we keep holy days not for the sake of intelligent and learned Christians (for they have no need of it [holy days]), but first of all for bodily causes and necessities, which nature teaches and requires; for the common people, man-servants and maid-servants, who have been attending to their work and trade the whole week, that for a day they may retire in order to rest and be refreshed.

Secondly, and most especially, that on such day of rest (since we can get no other opportunity) freedom and time be taken to attend divine service, so that we come together to hear and treat of God’s Word, and then to praise God, to sing and pray." (Source: The Ten Commandments )

-CryptoLutheran

That is the problem, The New Covenant does not Cancel out the O.C. Covenants don't work that way, the Heaven & Earth Covenant was not canceled out when Adam sinned. show me where that is the case. Christ said it would remain "until the heaven and earth pass away" that is after 1000 years. Adam's Covenant was not canceled when Noah's Covenant was instituted, & Noah's Covenant was not canceled when Abraham's Covenant was instituted. They were incorporated into one another. When Moses's Covenant was established the previous covenants were incorporated into the M.C. Likewise when the N.C. was instituted the O.C. incorporated into the N.C. The N.C added something that the previous Covenant did not have, mainly the Holy Spirit, the return to the Garden of Eden/Holy Place and the ability to enter heaven it's self upon death.

 

[Adventist Heretic]

That never happened. It is a a variation on the Landmark Baptist mythological history of an underground church, propagated uncritically by Ellen G. White, who contrary to all historical evidence claims the Paulicans, Bogomils and Albigenses were not, when in fact they were Docetic, and also makes the same claim about the Waldensians, whose early beliefs were sufficiently aligned with mainline Protestantism that those who survived the genocide against them in Piedmont joined with the Calvinists in Geneva, and later merged with the Italian Methodists to form the largest Protestant church in Italy, which worships on a Sunday. There is also a Waldensian parish in the PCUSA.

The Waldenses: Sabbath Keepers or not?

The Waldenses: Sabbath Keepers or not? By Kelly McDonald, Jr. In recent years, a bit of a controversy has surfaced regarding the Waldenses. Some people have denied that they ever kept the Sabbath. …

sabbathsentinel.org

Sabbath keepers or not?

 

[ViaCrucis]

That is the problem, The New Covenant does not Cancel out the O.C. Covenants don't work that way, the Heaven & Earth Covenant was not canceled out when Adam sinned. show me where that is the case. Christ said it would remain "until the heaven and earth pass away" that is after 1000 years. Adam's Covenant was not canceled when Noah's Covenant was instituted, & Noah's Covenant was not canceled when Abraham's Covenant was instituted. They were incorporated into one another. When Moses's Covenant was established the previous covenants were incorporated into the M.C. Likewise when the N.C. was instituted the O.C. incorporated into the N.C. The N.C added something that the previous Covenant did not have, mainly the Holy Spirit, the return to the Garden of Eden/Holy Place and the ability to enter heaven it's self upon death.

But the Bible very clearly states that the things of the Covenant made through Moses pointed toward Jesus, and that the Old is rendered obsolete by the New (those aren't my words, those are the words Scripture uses).

-CryptoLutheran

 

[The Liturgist]

so the sabbath remains.

Yes, but not in the sense understood by Adventists, so that option is also untenable.

It would have been more productive if you had just asked us our opinion rather than trying to shoehorn us into preconceived categories that in various respects deprecate our beliefs.

 

[The Liturgist]

The Waldenses: Sabbath Keepers or not?

The Waldenses: Sabbath Keepers or not? By Kelly McDonald, Jr. In recent years, a bit of a controversy has surfaced regarding the Waldenses. Some people have denied that they ever kept the Sabbath. …

sabbathsentinel.org

Sabbath keepers or not?

Sabbath Sentinel is not a reliable source of information concerning church history. They have an article that praises the Arians as Sabbath-keepers, which is false, and also deeply disturbing; Pope Constantine was baptized by an Arian and his son Constantius was an Arian, and these are the same people you claim banned worship on the Sabbath, so you can’t have it both ways. I have also seen their article on the Waldensians and it is pure speculation.

The fact is we have almost no documentary evidence about the beliefs of the early Waldensians, but we do know for a fact that they embraced the Calvinist movement in Geneva, and from there some settled in the United States and are Presbyterians, and the remainder spread into Italy and merged with the Methodists so the Waldensian Church is the largest Protestant Church in Italy, including in Piedmont where the local monarch tried to exterminate them. And in both the US and in Italy they joyously worship on Sunday.

 

[trophy33]

None of the above and the provided options are rather weird.

The Lord's day can have two meanings, depending on the Greek:
1. Kyriaké - the day of His victory, Sunday (Rev 1:10)
2. De hémera Kyriu - the day of His coming judgement (2Pt 3:10)

Its not related to Sabbath in any way.

 

[The Liturgist]

But the Bible very clearly states that the things of the Covenant made through Moses pointed toward Jesus, and that the Old is rendered obsolete by the New (those aren't my words, those are the words Scripture uses).

-CryptoLutheran

Indeed, Christ Himself said as much at the end of the Gospel of Luke, and elsewhere, and St. Paul says this repeatedly. I myself am unable to understand how Adventism is compatible with the Epistle of St. Paul to the Romans and the Epistle of St. Paul to the Corinthians, and the Epistle of St. Paul to the Colossians, and to the Thessalonians, and I have noticed they don’t quote from the Pauline epistles that much in debates with us. Rather their most frequently quoted text is an out-of-context quote of Mark 7 used against Roman Catholics.

 

[The Liturgist]

None of the above and the provided options are rather weird.

The Lord's day can have two meanings, depending on the Greek:
1. Kyriaké - the day of His victory, Sunday (Rev 1:10)
2. De hémera Kyriu - the day of His coming judgement (2Pt 3:10)

Its not related to Sabbath in any way.

Where you and I agree on something, I think it can be regarded as definite, since you and I have a history of debating tooth-and-nail as they say on other issues. God bless you my brother.

 

[The Liturgist]

That is the problem, The New Covenant does not Cancel out the O.C. Covenants don't work that way, the Heaven & Earth Covenant was not canceled out when Adam sinned. show me where that is the case. Christ said it would remain "until the heaven and earth pass away" that is after 1000 years. Adam's Covenant was not canceled when Noah's Covenant was instituted, & Noah's Covenant was not canceled when Abraham's Covenant was instituted. They were incorporated into one another. When Moses's Covenant was established the previous covenants were incorporated into the M.C. Likewise when the N.C. was instituted the O.C. incorporated into the N.C. The N.C added something that the previous Covenant did not have, mainly the Holy Spirit, the return to the Garden of Eden/Holy Place and the ability to enter heaven it's self upon death.

So walk us through how the Epistles of St. Paul say that, in a different thread if you will, in order to stay on topic.

The problem remains, the options you provided us are not useful.

 

[tall73]

none of the above is not an option, if you want to write what you think the Lord's Day is in a simple and concise manner, I might advocate for adding it.
The Lord's Day is......

I think the two options that Myst33 laid out should be included:

The Lord's day can have two meanings, depending on the Greek:
1. Kyriaké - the day of His victory, Sunday (Rev 1:10)
2. De hémera Kyriu - the day of His coming judgement (2Pt 3:10)

- The day of the Lord is Sunday, the day of the Lord's victory.

- The day of the Lord is the day of His coming judgment.

Those are documented views people hold on the subject. So they should be options in the poll regarding people's views on the subject.

 

[The Liturgist]

I think the two options that Myst33 laid out should be included:



- The day of the Lord is Sunday, the day of the Lord's victory.

- The day of the Lord is the day of His coming judgment.

Those are documented views people hold on the subject. So they should be options in the poll regarding people's views on the subject.

Among other things, yes. And other options should be edited I think so as to remove anti-Sabbatarian bias

 

[Aaron112]

so #3

chuckling, smiling, nodding my head back and forth, grinning ....

 

[tall73]

So walk us through how the Epistles of St. Paul say that, in a different thread if you will, in order to stay on topic.

I think there is a basic disconnect between the statement of the purpose of the thread in the first post, and the options in the poll.

There are many people who have varying views on the Lord's Day. This poll is designed to clarify the varying views on the issue.

• 1. The Lord's day is just another name for the Sabbath.
• 2. The Lord's day is a Second Sabbath, like the weekend.
• 3. The Lord's day is a Replacement Sabbath, or new Sabbath on a new day.
• 4. The Lord's day is like a prayer meeting, an additional service to the Sabbath, that usurped it.
• 5. The Lord's day is a Pagan day, that came into Christianity

Since his options in the poll relate the Lord's Day to the Sabbath that appears to be part of his notion of the purpose of the thread, even if it is not stated in the text of his first post.

So, since he posted the thread, it appears he thinks that his statements in regards to the covenant are related, and perhaps even his actual purpose for discussion, instead of a general survey of views on the Lord's day.

Perhaps he should just edit the title of the thread to "How does the Lord's day relate to the Sabbath?"