Have you ever read I Corinthians 10:4 - "And did all drink the same spiritual drink: for they drank of the spiritual ROCK that went with them: and THAT ROCK WAS CHRIST! " Paul is ever so clearly stating that the real Jesus was the very person of the God team who was with the children of Israel. It was He who over and over called Himself the "LORD YOUR GOD, which have brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage. "

He then went on to say, "You shall have no other gods before me!" How often do you think of Jesus as the great God of Israel? Realize this same Jesus does not change. He is the same yesterday, today and forever. Read Hebrews 13:8.

In John l:l-3 we read: "In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word wasGod. The same was in the beginning with God. ALL things were created by HIM; and without Him was not anything made that was made. " Who is this WORD? It is the very One Who became flesh, Jesus of Nazareth. Read verse 14: "And the Word was made flesh, and dwelt among us . . . "

But was the Sabbath day ‘made?’ And was it made for man’s benefit? Will you believe the words of your savior? Read Mark 2:27: "And He (Jesus)said unto them, The Sabbath was made for man . . ." (not the Jews only). Jesus even claims He is the LORD of the Sabbath if you read the next verse. "Therefore the Son of man is Lord also of the Sabbath." (Is it not amazing so many erroneously think Jesus is Lord of Sunday?) The Father and Jesus created it when they made man. Genesis 1:26; 2:1-3: "Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had made; and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And God BLESSED the seventh day, and SANCTIFIED it (set it apart for holy use) because that in it He rested from all His work which. God created and made. "

How PLAIN the TRUTH is. Yet some believe it is a ‘non-essential’ choosing rather to feel satisfied Christ enjoys their worshipping Him on Sunday, the venerable day of the sun. And of course they have come up with every conceivable self-justification for doing so, in spite of the fact it was the Roman Catholic Church that enjoined worship on the first day of the week.

Father T. Enright, Roman Catholic Priest, Kansas City, MO:

"It was the Holy Catholic Church that changed the day of rest from Saturday to Sunday, the first day of the week. And it not only compelled all to keep Sunday, but at the Council of Laodicea, A.D. 364, anathematized those who kept the Sabbath and urged all persons to labor on the seventh day under penalty of anathema.

"Which church does the whole civilized world obey? Protestants call us every horrible name they can think of, anti-Christ, the scarlet-colored beast, Babylon, etc., and at the same time profess great reverence for the Bible, and yet by their solemn act of keeping Sunday, they acknowledge the power of the Catholic Church.

"The Bible says: ‘Remember the Sabbath day to keep if holy.’ But the Catholic church says, ‘No, keep the first day of the week,’ and the whole world BOWS IN OBEDIENCE."

Not only does it bow in obedience, but the major portion of all in Christendom seem happily willing to do so.

If the Sabbath then is a "non-essential," why did the real Jesus work over 18,000 miracles to establish indelibly in the minds of millions WHICH day of the week was HOLY and should be REMEMBERED?

Some will say, "Oh, I never knew that!" Of course, because they have been misled to follow another Jesus as Paul spoke of in II Corinthians 11:4. Since those things which were written aforetime are written for OUR learning, let us find out about those miracles.

Turn to Exodus 16. The children of Israel had left Egypt and had NOT YET come to Mount Sinai. And the covenant had NOT YET been proposed. And lo, here is an amazing set of circumstances.

In verse 4 the LORD (Jesus Christ) said He would work a great miracle. He would give them bread from heaven! And He said they should gather a certain rate every day. And what was the reason? Same verse . . . "that I may prove them, whether they will walk in My law or not. "

The instruction was that they should not leave any, gathered on each of the first five days of the week, over until morning; because it would breed worms and stink. (Verses 19-20).

After some experienced this horrible stench, God told them that on the sixth day they were to gather twice as much and this was to be kept over to eat on the Sabbath because on the Sabbath there would be none. Verses 22,23: "And it came to pass, that on the sixth day they gathered twice as much bread ...And he said unto them, This is that which the LORD said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which you will bake today, and seethe that you will seethe; and that which remains over lay up for you to be kept until the morning. "

And did it stink this time? Verse 24: "And they laid it up till the morning (Sabbath), as Moses bade: and it DID NOT stink, neither was there any worm therein."

Now what did Moses instruct on the Sabbath day? Verses 25-26: "And Moses said, Eat that today; for today is a Sabbath unto the LORD: today you shall NOT find if in the field. Six days you shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which IS THE SABBATH, in it there shall be NONE. "

Some were hard-headed and stiff-necked and did not believe. So they went out to gather on the Sabbath and found NONE (verse 27). Verse 28:

"And the LORD said unto Moses, How long REFUSE you (plural) to keep my commandments and my laws?

1. The fact of the manna itself on 6 days of the week.

2. Twice as much available on the sixth day.

3. Bred worms and stank if any was left over during the first five days of the week.

4. Did not breed worms and stink on the Sabbath.

5. NONE to be found on the Sabbath day.

Can your mind imagine what Jesus is doing? The manna did not stop until the 16th of Abib, the year the children of Israel went over the river Jordan (Joshua 5:10-12). The series of miracles started BEFORE Mount Sinai. Week after week, month after month, year after year, Jesus Christ did NOT think the Sabbath was ‘NON-ESSENTIAL,’ but worked over 18,000 miracles to erase any doubt as to which day of the week was HOLY! He then said KEEP lT HOLY! FORTY YEARS OF MIRACLES!

When Jesus spoke of the two great commandments (Mark 12:29-31), He quoted what He had previously told the people of Israel. Thus, He put His stamp of approval on what He had told them, as being for us today (Deut. 6:4-5; Lev. 19:18).

In Deuteronomy, a book of LOVE, Jesus explains HOW to love HIM with all your heart, mind and soul. Notice carefully what Jesus inspired in chapter 10:12-13: "And now, Israel, what does the Lord your God (Jesus, the Word of God, if you please) REQUIRE of you, but to fear (reverence) the LORD your God, to walk in ALL His ways, and to LOVE HIM, and to serve the LORD God with all your heart and with all your soul, TO KEEP THE COMMANDMENTS of the LORD, and His statutes, which I command you this day FOR YOUR GOOD?"

Please think not they are NOT a yoke of bondage as so many in Churchianity seem willing to have people believe. The commands of the Lord are FOR YOUR GOOD!

In John 14:15 this same Jesus said, "if you love me, KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS! " Those commands include all He spoke anywhere in the Bible.

"Then he (Jesus) said to them ‘The Sabbath was made for man (Greek - mankind), not man for the Sab-bath. So (as a result of the Sabbath being for mankind) the Son of Man (Jesus the Christ) is Lord even of the Sabbath" (Mark 2:27-28).

One of the greatest gifts ever bestowed on man by Jesus Christ, Who is LOVE, for God is love, is the Sabbath. (See, for that the LORD has given you the Sabbath . . . " (Ex. 16:29). We preach this truth of

God with all our heart. Is it not strange that when we show what God in the Bible requires, some think we hate those who refuse to obey the real Jesus in not keeping His Sabbath day holy. Is it hate to warn that Sunday worship is not acceptable to Jesus, and He said, "In vain do they worship me, teaching for doctrine the commandments of men" (Mark 7:7). Sunday observance is a commandment of men, not of God.

Or is it LOVE which would plead with people not to be among those who meet Christ in that day and point to all the miracles they worked in His name, only to hear from His mouth - "I never knew you, depart from me, you that work iniquity (lawlessness)" (Matt. 7:22,23).

Is it love to plead with people - "Enter you in at the strait gate: for wide is the gate, and broad is the way, that leads to destruction, and many there be which go in thereat: Because strait is the gate, and narrow the way, which leads unto life and few there be that find it"

Jesus told those who were His disciples, "Follow me." Jesus kept the Sabbath and set us an example that all of us should follow His steps. (I Pet. 2:21). My friend, do you have the faith to follow your savior? The love of God constrains us to point you continually to the straight and narrow way, not the broad way which would lead you to destruction. What will your choice be?