Where in the bible does it say that we are supposed to go the kingdom hall on Sundays? And whose idea was it? What day of the week is the Sabbath?Jehovah’s Witnesses do not observe a weekly sabbath. Sunday meetings are merely a matter of tradition and convenience, since most people typically do not work or go to school on Sunday.
But the fact of the matter is some congregations of Jehovah’s Witnesses do not have Sunday meetings. In rare instances where more than four congregations share a kingdom hall some congregations meet on Saturdays. And it should be noted that Jehovah’s Witnesses have meetings throughout the week as well, not just on Sunday.
If you look at a calendar you will notice that Sunday is the 1st day of the week. The Jewish Sabbath is on the last day, the seventh day of the week, corresponding to Saturday. The Seventh Day Adventists also promote a Saturday Sabbath. But, as discussed in a previous mailbag question, Christians are not under the Ten Commandments or Jewish Law. In numerous letters to the congregations the apostle Paul forcefully proved that Christians are not required to observe a literal weekly sabbath. For example, writing to the Galatians Paul observed: "You are scrupulously observing days and months and seasons and years. I fear for you, that somehow I have toiled to no purpose respecting you."
The "days" the Christians were "scrupulously observing" were the Jewish festival days and sabbaths. Paul, though, taught that the Christian observes the sabbath simply by resting from our own works of self justification.
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Thursday, December 07, 2006
More on Sabbath
The Jewish nation to whom the sabbath laws apply failed miserably... So it is obvious that no one individual or group of people can perfectly observe Sabbath. Generally, the failure of the Jewish people to obey God stands as a testimony that imperfect humans cannot perfectly keep God’s commandments. Time and time again they failed to uphold their covenant with God. Eventually, they were led away into captivity for 70 years for the very reason that they failed to keep the Sabbath and its regulations for true worship. The perfect man Jesus was the only man on earth that was able to keep the Law Covenant, including its sabbatical requirements. More complications grew during the first century and the Jewish nation fell into a point of no return. So their house was abandoned to them as Jesus predicted, with the destruction of Jerusalem in 70 C.E. “As Lord of the Sabbath,” Jesus will lead obedient mankind into a right relationship with God and ultimately vindicate his Father's sovereignty. By all indication the thousand-year reign of Christ will prove to be a sabbatical rest for the earth. During that time Satan and his minions will be confined in the abyss, so as not to mislead the nations anymore. God's Kingdom will rule supreme over all the earth for the sake of obedient mankind; a truly sabbatical rest indeed! Even now, true Christians may in a spiritual sense observe the Sabbath by leaving off sinful practices and producing fruits that befits repentance. This is not easy for Christians anymore than it was not easy for fleshly Israel to observe the literal Sabbath days and other requirements of the Mosaic Law. That is why God’s judgments are inevitable, even coming first upon his own house and then the nations. Therefore, all nations reflect the condition of the human race as exemplified in Biblical times. So the thousand-year Sabbath to come is truly a loving provision for the benefit of all who willingly embrace God’s terms for our salvation.
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