Paul was not meeting in a church service on Sunday

Q. In the second half of my KJV Study Bible under Acts.20.7, it states that the synagogues were virtually empty on Sunday and Paul fellowshipped with the church, as “revealed here and in 1 Cor. 16.2.” Is 1 Cor. 16.2 proof that the collection plates in churches were passed around on Sunday?

A. Last week, it was proved that Paul was not meeting in a church service on Sunday, but it was a Saturday Sabbath afternoon and night, culminating with a traditional Havdalah service. Acts 20.7 is a verse that is twisted by those who misunderstand the Scriptures (2 Pet 3.16-17). Once again, believers in Yeshua did not start Sunday churches but met in synagogues or homes that served as synagogues. There is one thing you need to understand, you don’t a building to be a synagogue. You could meet anywhere to teach and pray, and that was” the synagogue”. For instance, in Acts 16.13 Paul is in Philippi and on the Sabbath went outside the gate to the riverside where they expected to find a place of prayer (synagogue). They found one and began to teach to those assembled. He didn’t know where the synagogue was in Philippi so he goes to where there was water because immersions are so important in the Torah and a synagogue would be near water so people could do ritual immersions as required by the L-rd.



Now, in 1 Cor 16.2 most versions have “first of the week” but it is literally “first Sabbath” in Greek. But it’s the first Sabbath of what? He is telling them to set aside a certain amount of money on the first Sabbath of every month. This money was for a relief fund for believers in need and persecuted. This fund was to be in a private personal treasury or fund, as the L-rd blessed them. Then when he came he would collect the money and be the Gabbai Tzedekah, or keeper of the treasury, and distribute it among those in need. He had directed other congregations to do the same thing and was a common synagogue practice. For the sake of argument let’s say that this was the first day of the week. This does not prove that this was a Sunday service in a Christian sense. Synagogues met several times a day for prayer and functioned much like a community center. We know from Yeshua’s parables and the culture of the time, people got paid daily. All Paul is saying is set aside money on the first payday of the week when you have it. This has nothing to do with a Sunday church service or passing a collection plate around. They were to set the money aside themselves, at home, and keep it in private fund so that when he came there would not be a big collection at one time. They would simply come to Paul and give the money they have been setting aside for quite some time.



Paul never attempted to move the Sabbath to Sunday or start calling Sunday the Sabbath or the L-rd’s Day. Churchmen say he did to justify their own ignorance, but Paul would never have done that because he was Torah compliant and taught others to do the same. 1 Cor 11.1-2, 2 Thes 2.15 and 3.6 is quite clear about what Paul taught. If you look up the word for “traditions” in these verses you will find it is the word “paradosis” in Greek and it relates to the Jewish Law, written or oral. And he told them to follow his example which was to keep the Sabbath. He instructs the Thessalonians to not even eat with someone who does not keep the traditions. So, in light of these Scriptures and the countless others that state that Paul kept the Torah, I am confident enough to say that the Corinthians were not passing a collection plate around as they were sitting in a church service on Sunday.