PASTOR'S WEEKLY SERMON NOTES

RLJ-688OL

EARTH - GOD’S UNIVERSITY OF FAITH 
PART FOUR 

October 31,1999
We are now going to study the different classes which are taught in this school.
Understand this, students cannot choose to elect certain subjects and drop others.
The curriculum is mandated by God, and must be taken.  Romans 9:9-24

Let us again refresh the teaching concerning time. The Bible tells us that a thousand earth years is like one day for God. 2 Peter 3:8.  Using this information, we can know the following: One hour in heaven is 41.67 years on earth. One minute in heaven is 8 months and 8 days on earth. One second in heaven is 3 days and 22 hours on earth.

Maximum time allotted to a person on this campus is 2 hours, 52 minutes, and 48 seconds (heaven time).  Earth time is 120 years.  Genesis 6:3

MORALITY
In our earthly schools the main subjects usually are 1) The native language of the nation a person is born in; 2) Reading and Writing; 3) Mathematics

Morality is not taught in our public schools, which explains why we have wars, murder and crime in general.  In God’s University, "Morality" is a key subject which God demands that each student master in order to graduate with honor.  Matthew 22:34-40

Remember this, being a moral person does not save anyone, but we are working on being moral because we are saved.  Ephesians 2:8-10

GOD HIMSELF GAVE MOSES THE STANDARD DIVINE MORAL CODE
It is also known as the Ten Commandments. The first three commandments instruct us as to how our relationship to God shall be and what he expects from us. The fourth commandment is how God wants us to work and rest.

4. REMEMBER THE SABBATH DAY, TO KEEP IT HOLY.  
Exodus 20:8-11

The word "Sabbath" in Hebrew comes from the Chaldean word "Sabattu," which means "a day of rest for the soul." This shows us that the divine institution of a 7^th day was known by the ancestors of Abraham, going all the way back to Adam through the linage of Seth.

CONTROVERSY
Which day is the Sabbath day? Do we know the original days, going all the way back to the Garden of Eden? The answer is NO! The current Jewish Calendar is a development of the Babylonian Calendar which dates back to the Sumarians, which dates back to 5000 B.C.  King Solomon had developed a Calendar for Israel around 930 B.C., which was called "the Gezer Calendar."  With the fall of Jerusalem in 587 B.C. the Jewish leadership adopted the Babylonian Calendar, including the names of the months.

At the time of Moses, when the people of Israel lived in Egypt, they were subjected to the Egyptian Calendar.  Each calendar used by different nations contained errors, and days had to be added at certain intervals of years in order to keep up with the turning of the sun from the south to the north (summer and winter).

When the Roman Empire had conquered all the nations in the Middle East, Julius Caesar, around 50 B.C., reformed the Roman republican calendar, abandoning the lunar calendar completely, and went to a tropical solar year, with a length of 365.25 days in a year. In order to get in step with the sun, two corrections were made in 46 B.C. On February 23, another 23 days were inserted, and at the end of November and the beginning of December another 67 days were added. This made year 46 B.C. to have 445 days.

By 1545 the vernal equinox had moved 10 days from its proper date. But it was not until 1572 under pope Gregory XIII that he issued a bull (decree) for a new calendar.

In order to bring the calendar back to line up with the sun, and bring the vernal equinox back to March 21, ten days were omitted from that year. In order to keep order in the future, leap years were introduced when one extra day would be added.

Most nations in the world today have adopted the Gregorian calendar, while the Jews have their own calendar. There are a number of other nations having their own calendars, like the Chinese. (Handed out with this outline is a history of the Jewish calendar, taken from Britannica)

It is noteworthy that there is a proposed INTERNATIONAL FIXED CALENDAR, but this does not properly divide into quarters for the business community, so instead there will be a WORLD CALENDAR, divided into four quarters, each having 91 days with an additional day at the end of the year.  

"In each quarter, the first month is of 31 days and the second and third of 30 days each.  The extra day comes after December 30 and bears no month or weekdaqy designation, nor does the intercalated leap year day that follows June 30.  In the World Calendar January 1, April 1, July 1, and October 1 are all Sundays.  Critics point out that each month extends over part of five weeks, and each month within a given quarter begins on a different day.  Nevertheless, both these proposed reforms seem to be improvements over the present system that contains so many variables. (C.A.R.)"  Excerpted from "Modern schemes for reform," under "CALENDAR REFORM SINCE THE MID-18TH CENTURY" of the Encyclopaedia Britannica ©1994-1999.

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To the Jews the day we now know as Saturday is the Sabbath for them, for most Christians Sunday is the Sabbath day,  and to the Muslims Friday is the Sabbath day.

THE PRINCIPLE GOD HAS GIVEN HIS PEOPLE IS THIS, WORK SIX DAYS AND THE SEVENTH IS THE SABBATH DAY.  Since God did not specify any specific day of the week for the Sabbath day, this principle works for all people around the world regardless of which calendar they follow.

God used the apostle Paul to settle this issue once and for all. Romans 14:1-23

Jesus said the Sabbath was made for man - Mark 2:23-28

Jesus ministered even on the Sabbath - Matthew 12:1-15

The Sabbath day is a DAY OF REST, WORSHIP, FELLOWSHIP WITH THE BELIEVERS AND A TIME TO REACH OUT TO THE LOST!

The Sabbath day is not a day to do business, paint your house, wash your car, go shopping, etc. God has given you six days to do all your work!

Instead of arguing if the day is Saturday or Sunday, let us unite in love, respect one another and live out our Christian life in love - 1 Corinthians 13: 1-8