Chapter XV.—The false and the true Sabbath.

Chapter XV.—The false and the true Sabbath.

Further,¹⁶⁵⁴Cod. Sin. reads “because,” but this is corrected to “moreover.” also, it is written concerning the Sabbath in the Decalogue which [the Lord] spoke, face to face, to Moses on Mount Sinai, “And sanctify ye the Sabbath of the Lord with clean hands and a pure heart.”¹⁶⁵⁵Ex. xx. 8; Deut. v. 12. And He says in another place, “If my sons keep the Sabbath, then will I cause my mercy to rest upon them.”¹⁶⁵⁶Jer. xvii. 24, 25. The Sabbath is mentioned at the beginning of the creation [thus]: “And God made in six days the works of His hands, and made an end on the seventh day, and rested on it, and sanctified it.”¹⁶⁵⁷Gen. ii. 2. The Hebrew text is here followed, the Septuagint reading “sixth” instead of “seventh.” Attend, my children, to the meaning of this expression, “He finished in six days.” This implieth that the Lord will finish all things in six thousand years, for a day is¹⁶⁵⁸Cod. Sin. reads “signifies.” with Him a thousand years. And He Himself testifieth,¹⁶⁵⁹Cod. Sin. adds, “to me.” saying, “Behold, to-day¹⁶⁶⁰Cod. Sin. reads, “The day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years.” will be as a thousand years.”¹⁶⁶¹Ps. xc. 4; 2 Pet. iii. 8. Therefore, my children, in six days, that is, in six thousand years, all things will be finished. “And He rested on the seventh day.” This meaneth: when His Son, coming [again], shall destroy the time of the wicked man,¹⁶⁶²Cod. Sin. seems properly to omit “of the wicked man.” and judge the ungodly, and change the sun, and the moon,¹⁶⁶³Cod. Sin. places stars before moon. and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day. Moreover, He says, “Thou shalt sanctify it with pure hands and a pure heart.” If, therefore, any one can now sanctify the day which God hath sanctified, except he is pure in heart in all things,¹⁶⁶⁴Cod. Sin. reads “again,” but is corrected as above. we are deceived.¹⁶⁶⁵The meaning is, “If the Sabbaths of the Jews were the true Sabbath, we should have been deceived by God, who demands pure hands and a pure heart.”—Hefele. Behold, therefore:¹⁶⁶⁶Cod. Sin. has, “But if not.” Hilgenfeld’s text of this confused passage reads as follows: “Who then can sanctify the day which God has sanctified, except the man who is of a pure heart? We are deceived (or mistaken) in all things. Behold, therefore,” etc. certainly then one properly resting sanctifies it, when we ourselves, having received the promise, wickedness no longer existing, and all things having been made new by the Lord, shall be able to work righteousness.¹⁶⁶⁷Cod. Sin. reads, “resting aright, we shall sanctify it, having been justified, and received the promise, iniquity no longer existing, but all things having been made new by the Lord.” Then we shall be able to sanctify it, having been first sanctified ourselves.¹⁶⁶⁸Cod. Sin. reads, “Shall we not then?” Further, He says to them, “Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot endure.”¹⁶⁶⁹Isa. i. 13. Ye perceive how He speaks: Your present Sabbaths are not acceptable to Me, but that is which I have made, [namely this,] when, giving rest to all things, I shall make a beginning of the eighth day, that is, a beginning of another world. Wherefore, also, we keep the eighth day with joyfulness, the day also on which Jesus rose again from the dead.¹⁶⁷⁰“Barnabas here bears testimony to the observance of the Lord’s Day in early times.”—Hefele. And¹⁶⁷¹We here follow the punctuation of Dressel: Hefele places only a comma between the clauses, and inclines to think that the writer implies that the ascension of Christ took place on the first day of the week. when He had manifested Himself, He ascended into the heavens.