Neal:  Thank you Steve.  Did you see this article, Saturday Is Killing Day about what we're doing to take back the Sabbath?  Please let me know what you think.

Steve:  Yes, I'd seen that article before.  And as you probably know, "they" is US  --  so-called "Christians" who, with the assurances from their pastors that "Jesus loves you and He will forgive you" and "He doesn't want you to mess up your life with an out-of-wedlock pregnancy" trot down there on Saturday morning.  I've seen the bumper stickers on the cars that arrive.

WE  --  God's people who are called by His name  --  must exert spiritual pressure through the Spirit by living under His law.  We judge the church ("those within") and He judges the world.  God won't hold the world to a higher standard than that to which the church holds itself:  WE have the keys of the kingdom.

I might add that men have within them the capacity and taste for all this evil.  We don't need Satan to explain it.  We're talking about unrestrained evil in men, not demonic forces.

Neal:  If this is explained by "unrestrained evil in men" why do we see Satan in the garden of Eden;  why is he there tempting the Lord Jesus Christ in the desert?  And in a nation with a government that God sanctioned which derives its just powers from the consent of the governed,  how is it that God's people do not have responsibility for the ministry of government as well as for the ministry of the gospel?

Steve:  Non seq.  I don't see how your questions follow from what I wrote.  Just what are you asking me?  Do you feel that man in his fallen condition is, even in a depraved state, incapable of the evil we see in the world?  Do you feel that the current level of evil in the world would REQUIRE demonic/satanic activity, because man without Satan is incapable of this level of evil?

Neal:  Certainly man is capable of evil, but nowhere in the Bible is sin seen to operate outside the context of the battle between God and Satan, what Paul calls the battle in the heavenlies.  From beginning to end, one of the foundational structuring themes of the Bible is the battle between God and Satan.  Therefore, the battle between God and Satan, just as it is the context for the original sin and the fall, is the context within which we must understand sin and this fallen world today.

Your message about the Sabbath is a good example of why Satan must be included in any analysis if the mind of Christ is to be fully revealed.  If you are in Christ and have studied scripture so that you are equipped to be a teacher who can rightly divide the word of truth, you will understand that God made some changes in His message about the importance of Days when He instituted the New Covenant.  But, since Satan does not either believe or understand the New Covenant, Satan has no real understanding of those changes.  Instead Satan has a full knowledge of the Old Covenant laws.  Since Satan's main method of attack against God is to take the things that God intended to be sacred and desecrate them, then looking at things from the mindset of Satan, Satan today has a clear and present reason to pervert the Sabbath.  Your decision to ignore this fact about Satan undermines the work of the Holy Spirit because that work consists of helping people see things as they really are, to see the Truth.  By deciding that what is happening on the Sabbath in the USA, where people God conceived to be born alive are legally butchered under sanction of we the people of the USA, has nothing to do with Satan, you quench what the Holy Spirit is trying to do.

In addition to this failure to see what Satan is doing, you also seem to lack complete insight into what God is trying to teach His people about His ministry of government.  I try to explain that teaching here:

Steve:  It appears that you have made up your mind. I think you are mis-reading some scriptures and ignoring others, and giving Satan a lot more credit than he deserves. Does your Bible also teach you that there will be a rapture, seven years of tribulation, and the return of Christ to defeat Satan?

Neal: That was a very revealing comment. By omitting mentioning the scriptures you say I mis-read or ignore, you make it impossible to respond. Were you operating in good faith and desiring to grow in knowlede you would not make such an omission. Only someone working to create confusion would respond as you did. You will reap what you sow.

Vince:  So... which day is really the sabbath? Saturday or Sunday?

Steve:  Sabbath properly starts at sundown on Friday evening and last until sundown Saturday evening.

Gil: Hey Bro, Shabbat Shalom -- at sundown today that is but I greet you anyway!!

Thanks for your message. I couldn't agree more. You are right on point. The modern Christian/Denominational church(es) don't get it. They violate Yahweh's commandment and Y'esuah's expressed warning. And, further, the Holy Days of the Torah which Y'eshah celebrated are ignored and, instead, pagan holydays are celebrated instead, Easter and Christmas. God is angry.

We have about ten people at our church who have a Messianic interest and we have formed a Messianic Study Group that meets every other Sabbath. We sing, pray, do candles, bread, wine, etc as do all Messianic, most other Jews.

Tom is a member of a Messianic congregation in St. Paul. Their cantor lives in Rochester and we now meet at his house every other Sabbath and we do the whole deal with the Hebrew prayers, candles, etc. It's awesome. It's a real adjustment as you well know -- no work, try to do no selfish efforts, try to stay in the WORD, etc., no cooking, etc etc. We do, however, "light a fire" with the ignition/car. We're stepping in a little at a time as we learn. It's a journey for sure. We're going to celebrate the high holy days coming up and will go to the Cities for a big party. We're planning on building Sukkot -- no sleeping in though.

Say, here's a site you should check out. Great Messianic teacher -- not really a preacher type, but a teacher. His name is Michael Rood. Awesome stuff. We've got many of his DVDs, tapes, etc. I can't get enough. We saw him about a week ago. He teaches Sabbath nite from 7 to 1a.m. and again Saturday 7 to 1 a.m.. Never a dull moment. He's incredible. Kind of controversial on some topics -- the Biblical Hebrew calendar, theories of how the Ark of the Covenant was taken from the Temple, etc.

Anyway, at the meeting they had various items for sale, among which were some pieces -- segments really -- of some Torah scrolls from Iraq that were smuggled out when Saddam was in power and trying to rid Iraq of anything Jewish. The scrolls were from 2 to 300 years old and were cut up and put in semi truck tires and smuggled out. We have one piece containing three segments of Genesis 32:11 to 35:8 We're going to have it framed and put a light on. Can't wait. They're goinig to send us a translation and certification of authenticity. It's neat -- all the little jots and tittles, etc. Met a man at the meeting who lives in Rochester and he came to our meeting last Shabbat. Very knowledgeable, self taught -- two years of study -- raised Lutheran. We're planning on a mailing to lots of the local churches of all denominations to invite any others who have similar interest. Maybe in a year or so we'll have enough to have our own congregation. For now we're kind of "babystepping" re our own present church. Pastor did bless our group and said not to expect lots of others running to meet with us. Oh, well. We feel compelled, as you, to share the truth. There are mountains to climb. Michael Rood said Billy Graham's father in law, now deceased, who was in charge of his monthly newsletter, was very outspoken about Sunday worship. Maybe that's why Billy's been so sick. I often wondered how Yahweh could all him to be so stricken after bringing so many to HIM. Well, Sunday worship is wrong, plain and simple. Constantine and the Popes are responsible.

Aaron's blessing on you, Steve! Good to hear from you. Love to all,

Steve:  The book is coming slowly, as I understand most all books do. Lots of good ideas but difficult to flow them together. All in God's timing.

Thanks for your other comments. It will be interesting to see if I get any other responses.

Farrell: Did Christ carry over the "Sabbath"? They collected money on the first Sunday....

Steve: As far as I can see, based on the scriptures and Christ's own words, the Sabbath was made for man and its weekly observance is part of the moral law of the universe, rather than part of Moses civil law for the nation of Israel, or part of the ceremonial law that was fulfilled in Christ. Neither Jesus nor Paul had a problem with the Sabbath, but only with its improper observance, i.e. applying legalism to make it a burden and a snare, rather than the blessing God intended it to be. As you know, God judged His people severely when they refused to observe it.