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The Flag and the Sabbath

The Flag and the Sabbath

I gave them my Sabbaths as a sign between us, so they would know that I the LORD made them holy (Ezekiel 20:12 NIV84).

A sign is a mark, which is an object that conveys meaning, something that symbolizes a message. The Sabbath is a sign, mark, object from God to humanity that He has given for a purpose—to convey a message to us. And in this way, the Sabbath is like a flag. Let’s consider object lesson similarities between a national flag and the Sabbath.

A nation’s flag is made for its citizens; the citizens are not made for the flag, just like “the Sabbath was made for man, not man for the Sabbath” (Mark 2:27 NIV84). A flag is created to inspire the people with patriotic love and loyalty to their country. The Sabbath was created to inspire humans with love and loyalty to God. A flag reminds people of the history, values, and principles of a nation. When people see the old Soviet flag, they are reminded of different values than those conveyed by the British, Canadian, or American flag. The Sabbath is given to remind us of God’s government, methods, and principles—the kingdom of truth, love, and liberty.

When people are taken captive in war and they see their national flag, it inspires them with the hope that their countrymen will come and rescue them. We are captives in a world of sin, and the Sabbath is to remind us that God sent Jesus to deliver us from sin, to make us holy, to rescue us.

Waving a flag from the heart is different than doing so out of obligation. Living in North Korea and flying the national flag because one fears the punishment of the state is not the same as waving one’s national flag because one loves their country. Likewise, observing the Bible Sabbath because it is a rule that an authoritarian god will punish you for breaking is not the same as loving the Creator and cherishing the Sabbath as a sign of the kingdom you love. This is why Isaiah says only those who delight in the Sabbath are true Sabbath keepers (Isaiah 58:13), because love cannot be commanded. A true patriot is one who loves their country, while a true Christian is one who loves the kingdom of God.

When people love and respect a country, they respect and treat as honorable the flag of that country; but when people despise a country, they trample upon and burn that nation’s flag. So too, when people love God and His kingdom, they honor His Sabbath—but when they don’t love God’s kingdom, they trample His Sabbath.

When we want to identify with a kingdom, we wave their flag, regardless of the place where one lives. Wave a British flag in America and one shows support for Britain. Likewise, if we want to show support for God’s kingdom, we honor the flag of His kingdom, the Sabbath, that He gave us as a sign.

But if we fly the flag of a nation, we would also need to adhere to and practice the laws of that nation to represent it correctly. Likewise, if we embrace the Sabbath of the Lord, then we need to honor it as God would have us honor it—as a mark of His kingdom of love, that His laws are design laws that cannot be imposed and are not enforced through external punishments. We, as God has done, present the truth in love and leave others free in how we live our lives all week long, for this is what the Sabbath reminds us of.

To embrace the Sabbath day as a rule that requires punishment for not observing it, one becomes like those who crucified the Lord of the Sabbath and wanted Him off the cross in order to keep the Sabbath. Such persons are like enemies of a nation who infiltrate and fly the national flag while they work against the kingdom they pretend to support.

Yes, the Sabbath is a sign that God makes us holy; it is an evidence of His Creatorship and His methods of governing, that at the end of six days of creating, God rested—He did not use power to force His intelligent creatures to obey, but He left them free to think and decide for themselves. Those who want to fly the flag of the Lord do so by embracing and practicing the same methods of God, truth, love, and liberty, all of which are symbolized by the Sabbath.

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I came into the church at 21, but that is as far as it went. I was so confused about what love is. I couldn’t find it in the bible, because I am not a person that can read between the lines. I have no logic. I have read many, many books; trying to figure out the crux of the matter. They were helpful, but something was still missing. I have become very frustrated to the point of crying out to God, “Where can I go?”  I needed some basics.

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Hearing Dr. Jennings’ presentations in person came at a pivotal moment in my spiritual journey that began about nine months ago, when the fault lines inherent in my belief system began to crack under questions that most reasonable people end up asking about God and His nature. These were questions I couldn’t find answers to, and they shook my faith. I was unable let it go any longer and be satisfied. My Christian experience became distant. I was afraid; the fear in me rose like thorns, pushing me away from Jesus. And then someone heard my questions and introduced me to this ministry, and my life has totally changed.

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Thank you and may God continue to bless you as you share with others the intricacies of how we are all “fearfully and wonderfully made”. I must share that you have opened a whole new world to me, and I have found tremendous healing through what you have shared in two of your books, “Could It Be This Simple?” and “The God Shaped Brain.” I praise God for what you shared, what I have learned, and how I have grown and healed! My prayer is that My Precious Jesus will be seen by others in the way I live, act, talk, etc. and they may be encouraged to know He is truly a GREAT God of LOVE, desiring that no one should perish! God Bless you in your continued endeavors to present Him as He really is!

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Testimony 54

I had a lot of pressure, as a pastor’s kid, to conform and be “good.” I was good at being “good.” I thought my life was going along well until it all started falling apart and I could not figure out why! In my search for “why is this happening to me, God?” I came across your book, “Could it be this Simple,” and God started revealing to me the many distortions I held about His character, His principles, and how He has designed His universe to operate. I remember thinking, “Wow, I have had this all backwards.” I was happy and angry all at the same time. Happy to have the light of truth break through the darkness, revealing a wonderful, beautiful way of understanding God and His plan for His children, and angry, because I felt deceived and cheated by the church, my family, and myself!

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I was born [into the church], then I left it for many years. 10 years ago, I came back, but I could not take the hypocrisy and the lack of answers to the missing pieces. I struggled, but I did not abandon my commitment to know the truth. God is leading me to the simple understanding of his relevance and I am relearning what the church taught me as a youth… that he loves me, that he has led me to a knowledge of him such as I have never known. He is using Dr. Jennings to connect the dots that are now so apparent and hiding in plain sight!

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You have helped make sense of thirty two years of confusion. The material you freely provide reorganized so much of my life into such a beautiful pattern that has always been hinted at from within, but misguided with my training and what I was experiencing externally. My filipno parents, who were converted from Catholicism to SDA, were sincere and did their best to raise me the right way and I have deep respect for them. However, being immigrants and not understanding the language made for a difficult transition as I was growing up, which also applied to my spiritual growth as I learned the patterns of religion. I have been listening to as many bible study classes and reading blog posts as my time in a work truck will allow, searching for the practical applications of where spirituality and reality meet, and I thank you for helping me find that. You have helped me reach a point in which I can truly say that I love God, that I believe He loves me, and, like David, I delight in His law. God bless.

Emmanuel V., Calgary, AB Canada

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Eric S., Sanford, FL, USA

 

Testimony 38

Since November 2015, when I started studying Gods word from this God Is Love point of view, my life has been transformed. My troubled marriage of 15 years has been healed and my husband and I are truly happy for the first time in 15 years. Now When I read the word of God I understand it so much better and I can’t help but see Gods love radiating through the pages to humanity. Gods word is living and active and I am blessed beyond measure to be having this amazing experience. God has given me a beautiful understanding of Jn 3:16 that amazes me more and more each day. Thank you again for your ministry.

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Testimony 35

I am so pleased with the response your message is receiving at my church from the middle-aged to the young adults. I have given out 100 copies of the first two seminars and there are more request every week. One of my [class members] came to me after viewing the series, grateful and impressed with how easy the message was retained. He had been a Seventh-day Adventist in fear all his life, and felt like the scales were removed from his eyes after viewing the seminars. I am so impressed by the change I see in members who have received this message, we are in one accord. However, I am sadden by the negative response of the older people. I am verbally attacked anytime I talk about imposed laws, but I believe my mission is to enlightened everyone I can. I watch your Bible Study Class on YouTube every Friday night and I feel like I am apart of the class. All of you are in one accord and I am so blessed to have found you. I pray that all of you continue to spread this message and I am committed to doing my part.

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