Body: | Acts 20:7
"And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break
bread"
This verse so clearly proves weekly 1st day (Sunday) communion and
worship services that sabbatarians are at a loss what to do with it!
The fact remains that there is nothing that would PREVENT this from
being a church communion service of exclusively Christians.
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Proof of weekly communion on Sunday (1st day)
"When he had gone through those districts and had given them much exhortation, he came to Greece. And there he spent three months, and when a plot was formed against him by the Jews as he was about to set sail for Syria, he decided to return through Macedonia. And he was accompanied by Sopater of Berea, the son of Pyrrhus, and by Aristarchus and Secundus of the Thessalonians, and Gaius of Derbe, and Timothy, and Tychicus and Trophimus of Asia. But these had gone on ahead and were waiting for us at Troas. We sailed from Philippi after the days of Unleavened Bread, and came to them at Troas within five days; and there we stayed seven days. And on the first day of the week, when we were gathered together to break bread, Paul began talking to them, intending to depart the next day, and he prolonged his message until midnight. And there were many lamps in the upper room where we were gathered together. And there was a certain young man named Eutychus sitting on the window sill, sinking into a deep sleep; and as Paul kept on talking, he was overcome by sleep and fell down from the third floor, and was picked up dead. But Paul went down and fell upon him and after embracing him, he said, "Do not be troubled, for his life is in him." And when he had gone back up, and had broken the bread and eaten, he talked with them a long while, until daybreak, and so departed. And they took away the boy alive, and were greatly comforted. (Acts 20:7-12)
A. Sabbatarians would never get the passage wrong if it said: "And on the
Sabbath, we were gathered together to break bread"
This proves the natural reading of the passage is a communion
service within a Christian assembly regardless of what day is mentioned.
There is nothing that would PREVENT this from being a church
communion service of Christians.
Meeting at Troas Acts 20:7
Paul in Synagogue
What Do You See?
Click to View An Assembly, Sunday, Christians Breaking Bread (Lord's Supper), Preaching to converts to encourage them. Meeting controlled by Christians.
Click to View Preaching to Non-Christians to convert them in an environment controlled by non-Christians
What Do You NOT See?
Click to View The Synagogue, The Sabbath, non-Christians.
Click to View A communion service. The words, "Paul kept the Sabbath", The words, "the disciples gathered together.
B. Sabbatarians VS. Sabbatarians:
Many Sabbatarians actually argue that this meeting took place on the
Sabbath, then say it was the Lord's supper, not a common meal. Some
over-zealous, but under-learned Sabbath keepers, will state the actual
Greek words used in Acts 20:7 & 1 Cor 16:1 actually refer to the weekly
Sabbath, not the first day of the week. They say "first day of the week",
is a mistranslation. The only ones who say this are those who have no
knowledge of Greek. All translations of the Bible say "first" of the week.
We know of no Bible of any kind that says "seventh" day of the week. (Note:
Seventh-day Adventists don't usually make this argument.)
Although Seventh-day Adventists never make this argument, the fact
that other Sabbath keepers do make the argument proves that it is quite
possible that this "breaking bread" refers to a communion service of the
church, It proves that a church communion service is the natural reading of
the text. It also proves that there is nothing preventing it from being a
church communion service.
This proves that it is quite possible that this "breaking bread"
refers to a communion service of the church,
Those Sabbatarians who say this was a 1st day meeting always argue
it was a common meal.
Acts 20:7
Which day
Breaking bread
Some Sabbatarians
Sabbath
Communion
Seventh-day Adventists
1st day
Common meal
C. Church forbidden from "gathering together" for a common meal:
"Therefore when you meet together, it is not to eat the Lord's Supper, for
in your eating each one takes his own supper first; and one is hungry and
another is drunk. What! Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink?
Or do you despise the church of God and shame those who have nothing? What
shall I say to you? Shall I praise you? In this I will not praise you." ...
"So then, my brethren, when you come together to eat, wait for one another.
If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home, so that you will not come
together for judgment. The remaining matters I will arrange when I come."
(1 Corinthians 11:20-22; 33-34)
Disciples ate the Lord's Supper when they assembled (1 Cor.
11:20-33) God has never authorized Christians to eat anything else but the
Lord's Supper in such an assembly: "What! Do you not have houses to eat and
drink in?" (1 Cor. 11:22). "But if anyone is hungry, let him eat at home,
lest you come together for judgment" (1 Cor. 11:34). "For the kingdom of
God is not eating and drinking" (Rom. 14:17)
Jesus commanded disciples to partake of the Lord's Supper (Matt.
26:26-28; Lk. 22:19; etc.) Jesus commanded disciples to assemble (Heb.
10:25). Any connection between Lord's Supper and Assembly? Here is an
assembly (commanded by Jesus: Heb. 10:25). They broke bread (commanded by
Jesus: 1 Cor. 11:23ff). They came for such a purpose. They did it on the
first day of the week.
The dichotomy is clear: common meals are taken at home, assembly is
for the Lord's Supper.
Here in Acts 20:7 the church gathered together on Sunday FOR THE
PURPOSE of a common meal? Not likely Notice 1 Cor 11:33-34: "when you come
together to eat" is exactly parallel to Acts 20:7
Acts 20:11 "and had broken the bread and eaten" This is the Lord's
supper. Exactly the same language as in 1 Corinthians 11:20-22; 33-34 "eat
the Lord's Supper" "in your eating" "when you come together to eat"
In Acts 2:46 it is not the Lord's supper but a common meal. Notice
they were individually having people over to the their houses for foot
AFTER they had all gathered together in the temple. The Greek word for
MEALS means common food and is NEVER used of the Lord's supper.
It would be rather strange for God to forbid taking common meals in
1 Cor 11:20-22; 33-34 then give an example of just that in Acts 20:7. This
proves Acts 20:7 could not be a common meal.
Common meal
Lord's supper
Acts 20:7
Click to View Common meals forbidden when disciples gather.
Click to View "The disciples gathered together for the purpose of breaking bread"
1 Cor 11:20
Click to View Common meals forbidden when disciples gather.
Click to View "When you meet together, to eat the Lord's Supper"
Acts 2:46
Click to View Had common "MEALS" in individual homes after all gathering together in the temple.
Click to View The Greek word for Meals is never used of the Lord's Supper.
1 Cor 11:20-22; 33-34
Click to View "Do you not have houses in which to eat and drink? ... If anyone is hungry, let him eat at home,"
Click to View This breaking bread is not a common meal
Acts 2:46; 2:42; Acts 20:7
Click to View Common meals called "Breaking bread"
Click to View Communion called "Breaking bread"
1 Cor 11:20-34
Click to View Same common Greek word Eating food.
Click to View Church "Eats" the Lord's Supper
Acts 2:46
Click to View Greek word for "Meals/food" in Acts 2:46 used only of common meals.
Click to View Greek word for "Meals/food" in Acts 2:46 never used of the Lord's supper
D. Proves weekly frequency of Lord's supper on 1st day and refutes the
notion of a yearly communion service as practiced by some Sabbatarian
churches:
Notice the fact that the disciples planned on meeting together in
Troas, one week after "Passover". If they were really breaking bread once a
year on the Passover Sabbath, they would have arranged to all meet there.
But the meeting place was Troas, one week after Passover.
"Passover Sabbath", the time World wide Church of God (Herbert W.
Armstrong and splinter groups) all gather together for the annual "high
day", is ignored as the disciples merely waited for Paul in Troas.
Obviously early Christians did not place the same kind of emphasis on
Passover that the Armstrong splinter groups do today.
It cannot be argued that Paul's travelling companions were in their
own local churches "Passover Sabbath", because they were in Troas on
"Passover Sabbath".
Nothing is said about any service on Passover, but one week later
the disciples are noted as having a communion and worship service.
If Passover Sabbath really was the central and most important time
for Christians, this would have been the place to record it.
But the exact opposite is recorded: Christian leaders waiting in
limbo at Troas on Passover, no mention of anything on Passover, the only
mention of Christians gathering in the New Testament for worship.
It is like having celebrating Christmas, on January 15 a second
time! Hey! Lets all get the family together in two weeks, and do Christmas
again!
We understand that SDA's generally believe that we are at liberty to
choose any frequency for the Lord's Supper, yearly, quarterly, monthly or
weekly. They generally have settled on a quarterly format with communion
always being done on "Passover sabbath".
This author always does Bible things in Bible ways. But SDA's
partake of the lord's supper on a day never mentioned in scripture and only
4 times a year, which contradicts the Bible the Bible pattern of weekly
observance.
Acts 20 proves that Christians partook of the Lord's supper every
week because it was two weeks after Passover. If the frequency of
observance was less than weekly, then they either didn't break bread on
Passover or they should not have been breaking bread 2 weeks later.
Sabbatarians have their communion services all backwards!
.
At Passover
Two Sundays after Passover
Pattern of Seventh-day Adventists
Quarterly communion always on Passover.
No communion two weeks after Passover
Pattern of Acts 20:1-12
Silence (but had a communion service weekly)
Communion worship service two weeks after Passover
.
At Passover
Two Sundays after Passover
Pattern of Various "Church of God" and Armstrong splinter groups
Church leaders gather for special Passover service in various locations
No communion two weeks after Passover
Pattern of Acts 20:1-12
Church leaders in limbo waiting for Paul to arrive in Troas
Communion worship service two weeks after Passover
E. Paul Stayed with them for exactly 2 Sundays or 7 days.
Paul's habit was to stay 7 days: Acts 21:4; 28:14; Acts 20:6. This
meant Paul arrived and left on the first day of the week.
This means he was with the disciples for two Sundays but only one
Sabbath.
If I was a Sabbatarian, I would surely make sure I spent two
Sabbaths and only one Sunday!
In this way Paul stretched his time with the disciples to maximize
the number of worship services together.
The record of history is that Christians met together before day
break Sunday morning. Here, is a Biblical text that says exactly that! Paul
arrived the Sunday before and left the following Sunday morning at 6AM.
Acts 20: 6 + 11 proves, counting backwards, that Paul arrived 7 days
before Sunday... or one week earlier on Sunday.
Passover
5 days
7 days
Leave Monday
Tuesday-Saturday
Sunday - Sunday
Calendar of events:
Friday "Lamb Feast"
Passover
Sabbath
Sunday: Festival of waving the Sheaf's: Lev 23:10-15
Monday
Tuesday
5 Days
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sabbath
Sunday : Paul arrives after the Sabbath ended
7 days
Monday
Tuesday
Wednesday
Thursday
Friday
Sabbath
Sunday: Acts 20:7 Worship starts at before midnight, Paul leaves 6AM Sunday Morning
F. Acts 20:7 is not a Sunday Night meeting that carries over to Monday
morning?
How Jews and Romans used the expression "Next Day":
Some say that since Acts 20:7 says that "Paul intended to leave the NEXT
DAY" then v 11 says Paul actually left at next "daybreak", that this must
be a Sunday evening communion service and Paul actually left early Monday
morning. The entire argument is based upon the assumption that the
expression "Next Day", using Roman time, proves the Christians gathered on
Sunday Night. However, this is error is proven wrong because there are 7
passages where Jews apply the exact same expression "next day" to the next
morning light. The truth is that Acts 20:7 is a Saturday night meeting that
carries over to early Sunday morning, all of which was the first day of the
week in Jewish time keeping.
Here are 7 passages that prove the usage of "next day" was the normal way
for both Jews and Romans to describe a 9 PM to 9 AM duration. In other
words, if it was 9PM on a Saturday night, "the next day" referred to the
daylight period starting at 6AM Sunrise, Sunday morning, 9 hours later.
In the LXX (Septuagint: The LXX was translated by Jews in 250 BC,
even though the event of Lot was 2000 BC.) at Gen 19:34: "So they made
their father drink wine that night, and the firstborn went in and lay with
her father; and he did not know when she lay down or when she arose. On the
following day, the firstborn said to the younger, "Behold, I lay last night
with my father; let us make him drink wine tonight also; then you go in and
lie with him, that we may preserve our family through our father." "
(Genesis 19:33-34) (v33 says it was night when they went in. v 34 the exact
same Greek word for "next day" is used in Acts 20:7 and Gen 19:34 LXX. v34
again says, "last night".)
"The people spent ALL DAY AND ALL NIGHT and all the NEXT DAY, and
gathered the quail " (Numbers 11:32) (here next day follows the night, even
though it was the same day of the week.)
"David slaughtered them from the TWILIGHT UNTIL THE EVENING OF THE
NEXT DAY " (1 Samuel 30:17) (twilight is after the sun has set, yet the
next day, was technically the same day as twilight, yet, evening of the
next day was really the dark period after the daylight.)
"When IT WAS EVENING, there came a rich man from Arimathea, named
Joseph, who himself had also become a disciple of Jesus. " "NOW ON THE NEXT
DAY, the day after the preparation, the chief priests and the Pharisees
gathered together with Pilate, " (Matthew 27:57, 62) (Here, evening and
next day, are the technically the same day, yet it is called the next day!)
"And he called to him two of the centurions and said, "Get two
hundred soldiers ready by THE THIRD HOUR OF THE NIGHT to proceed to
Caesarea, with seventy horsemen and two hundred spearmen." So the soldiers,
in accordance with their orders, took Paul and BROUGHT HIM BY NIGHT TO
ANTIPATRIS. But THE NEXT DAY, leaving the horsemen to go on with him, they
returned to the barracks. " (Acts 23:23-32) (here we have an interesting
dilemma: either #1: Romans were counting the hours the same as Jews: third
hour of the night was 9PM according to Jews, but called the next morning
the next day anyway. Or #2 they were using roman time and the 3rd hour
would have been 3 AM, but they called the morning the next day anyway!)
"On that day, when evening came, He said to them, "Let us go over to
the other side ." " (Mark 4:35) (Here the evening after the day is called
the same day! Mark never uses roman time anywhere else! Obviously this was
the natural way both Romans and Jews described the evening.)
"So when it was evening on that day, the first day of the week, and
when the doors were shut where the disciples were, for fear of the Jews,
Jesus came and stood in their midst and said to them, " Peace be with you."
" (John 20:19) (here is the crunch passage: the evening of the first day of
the week was when Jesus was in the tomb! Yet the night after the day light
of the first day of the week was called "evening ON THAT DAY.)
G. Pattern of holy days: Every Sunday we should have communion:
If communion was yearly, it will specify month and day, (ie 14 day
of the 1 month)
If communion was monthly it will specify day of the month, but not
the month (1st of the month)
If communion was weekly only mentions the day of the week (1st Day)
H. Resurrection recorded in a service dedicated to remember the
resurrection of Christ:
"I do not believe in revealed coincidences. In other words, God revealed
things for us to teach us. Have any ever thought it possible that the
miracle recorded, the resurrection of Eutychus, in an assembly convened
because of another resurrection, was just coincidence, or is this planned
by God since not all miracles are recorded. In other words, the context of
breaking the bread in Acts 20: 7ff celebrating the resurrection of Jesus
was in an assembly were a resurrection happened!" (Perry Hall offers this
interesting insight.)
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We Speak truth in LOVE
"you are seeking to kill Me, a man who has told you the truth" Jn 8:40
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