The scriptures were intentionally composed so as to purposely inhibit readers from reading and believing what is literally written in a linear interpretation.  Herbert W. Armstrong who was of course a literalist, proclaimed: There were no eye-witnesses to the resurrection. Even so-called "apostolic fathers" had no source of information save that record which is today available to us. Tradition, then, must be dismissed (see The Resurrection Was Not On Sunday). Yet, Armstrong was wrong -- i.e, (1) the allegorical account was composed in this manner for an important reason; (2) and any seeker who prevails over their physical organic limitations, learns the truth about the scriptures and their allegorical nature and higher purpose. Therefore, if you want to know the Truth, you will have to either (1) ask one of the authors of the scriptures; (2) enter into Spirit and examine the actual historical record that is not recorded in the allegorical scriptures; (3) or seek instruction directly from the Indwelling Logos/Son of God/True Prophet (see http://OuterDarkness.Nazirene.org/#TrueProphet ). 

While Armstrong from one perspective has it right, the greater problem is seen in the fact that he did not understand what the scriptures are presenting.  Armstrong writes: A vital text proving that there were two Sabbaths in that week has been obscured by almost every translation into English. Only Ferrar Fenton's version has this point correct. Turn to Matthew 28:1. In the common versions it says, "In the end of the Sabbath," or more correctly, "after the Sabbath." Notice that both of these renderings use the singular -- Sabbath. But in the original Greek the word is in the PLURAL. Fenton renders it correctly by saying, "After the SABBATHS," although the remaining part of the verse he has not translated quite correctly. In a foot-note to this text, he says, "The Greek original is in the plural, 'Sabbaths'."

When the scriptures are properly understood within the context of the Greek term mia ton sabbaton as stated at the subheading Spiritual Sabbath, the correct understanding would be rendered for first day of the week as "one of the Sabbaths". Quoting from the subheading  Spiritual Sabbath ( http://thomaspaineredux.nazirene.org/#SpiritualSabbath ):

As noted in many places in this article, Eden is the embodiment of the Sabbath -- and it is the return to Eden while still alive in the body (see http://GateOfEden.com ), that is the true objective of the scriptures and the teachings of Jesus and TheWay. From a true spiritual perspective, the Jews have never celebrated a Sabbath -- and what they observe, is an allegorical portrayal of the Sabbath that they lack the depth of understanding to comprehend the meaning of. And this reality which is not understood by either the Jews, or the pagan Christians, is also presented in the meaning of the verse that was removed from the Gospel of Luke by the sun-worshipping Christians -- i.e., "On the same day, He (Jesus) beholding a man laboring on the Sabbath, said to him: Man if thou knowest what thou doest, blessed art thou; if however thou dost not know, cursed art thou and a transgressor of the law" (seehttp://BibleCorruption.com ). If the Passover is correctly embraced from a spiritual perspective -- in contradistinction to the allegorical Passover of the Jews -- then the disciple has overcome, and achieved the next level of birth -- and to him, there is nothing but Sabbaths.  After the Celebration of the True Sabbath which can only be accomplished in the fulfillment of the Laws within one's self, there is no more counting of days, weeks, months and years -- i.e., "But now after you have known God, or rather are known by God, how is it that you turn again to the weak and beggarly elements, to which you desire again to be in bondage? You observe days and months and seasons and years. I am afraid for you, lest I have labored for you in vain" (Gal 4:9-11 NKJ). The Pharisees, who were condemned because of their carnal and ritualistic interpretation of the scriptures, celebrate an allegorical Sabbath that is of the flesh -- i.e., what Paul portrays as a "shadow" of the True Sabbath that is Spiritual.  The Disciples of Jesus are to strive to bring about the True Spiritual Sabbath of Completion -- and after you achieve this Spiritual Sabbath, there is no more days of the week -- but only the abiding eternal rest. And this is why the Sabbath is portrayed as following the Passover in the Gospels, and the next day is portrayed as "one of the Sabbaths". Among other things, what this means is that there is absolutely no basis for observing the day of the sun-god -- i.e., Sunday -- except, of course, if you worship the sun-god in the manner of the pagan Church of Rome. And the fact that you can't count the days where the Son of Man was in the tomb three days -- and make it the day of the sun-god -- simply because you read the scriptures in the same manner as the Pharisees -- totally alienates the believers of the Church from even the very objects and spiritual essence of the teachings of Jesus and TheWay. 

 

In order to celebrate and observe the Spiritual Sabbath, one must achieve the Final Stage of Birth which would constitute a return to Eden from the perspective of the fulfillment of the Laws and the reality of the Omega of Creation within one's self -- in the manner that the historical man Yeshua did.   Now, without resorting to a crystal ball, I can foresee you presenting countless biblical verses proclaiming the Sabbath -- but they are all part of the shadow-sabbath.

Herbert Armstrong did not at all understand WHY the scriptures are an allegorical account -- simply because the article An Inconvenient Truth ( http://AnInconvenientTruth.org ) had not yet been written which explains the higher purpose and objective of the scriptures.  Mr. Armstrong had never known or spoken to the original authors.  He did not believe in the Inner Kingdom -- or the reality that when the scriptures are used as the Key of Knowledge  ( http://KeyOfKnowledge.org ) and is turned within one's own mind and being, that mankind as the lost prodigal son possesses the innate ability to enter and return to the Edenic Kingdom of Origination while still physically alive in the body-vessel (see http://GateOfEden.com ).  Like the vast majority of Christians, Armstrong was robbed of the a more spiritual understanding of the scriptures by virtue of the corruption of the scriptures by the scribes of the Orthodox Church (see http://BibleCorruption.com ), and the later directives of a series of Roman Emperors (see http://reincarnation.nazirene.org/#emperors ) -- to the degree, that even those Words which were alleged to be spoken directly from God to mankind, were corrupted and changed in order to promote the Jesus-god of Pagan Rome.  

Because the Deists understood both the Laws and the purpose of what was being conveyed in the two allegorical Creation accounts in Genesis, they understood that in the same way that the Father did not come rushing to the aid of his prodigal son when his son was in great need and being exploited by what Jesus portrayed as the Citizen of the Far Country, neither does Creator-God tweak the Laws that were put into effect prior to God Resting on the Spiritual Sabbath.   Faith-based believers not only fail to understand the reason there is two Creation accounts in Genesis, but neither do they understand the true spiritual reality of the Sabbath.   Creator-God's work was completed in what is allegorically portrayed as the Sabbath -- and being Complete, there was no more work to be accomplished.   Therefore, not only does the Genesis account portray Creator-God's work as being Completed on the Sabbath, but what is presented as God in the second Creation account, portrays God in a different name.   God's Presence therefore, in all that follows the initial Creation account, is in fact the movement of God's Laws and the Natural Forces of Creation that was put into effect -- and this is confirmed in the disciples statement that allegorically, the Jews were a people who had "...received the law by the direction of angels and have not kept it"(Acts 7:53 NKJV).  But what does this mean?  Allegorically, the angels are representative of the personification of the Laws -- so it wasn't that a supernatural being handed the Law over to Moses -- but rather, that in the development of mind signified in the allegory of the text, the elevated consciousness enabled the mind to see, perceive and understand the higher reality of the Laws that organic man is blind to.   That, as Paul states, they "...have not kept it", is because they have failed to bring about the Completion of the Sabbath.   In further making reference to the Law, Paul writes: "For if the message spoken by angels was binding, and every violation and disobedience received its just punishment" (Heb 2:2 NIV).   

When the Laws that were put into effect are understood, perhaps the best way to portray these Laws that the Deists portrayed as the Laws of Nature and Nature's God, is as a Spiritual Bio-Feedback machine that dynamically evolves each soul to perfection by intimately responding to our every action, reaction and failure to act -- and responds appropriately when the time is opportune for our greatest learning and advancement.   That these Laws were put into action in the Alpha of Creation -- and are the Perfect Works of Creator-God that is Dynamically Designed to movement of man -- is a reality of the Laws that the core Deists attempted unsuccessfully to convey to the theists and organized religion.  

The theist asserted that it was necessary for Creator-God to perpetually intervene in the day to day affairs of this world, while the Deist position was that Creator-God brought forth and initiated a series of Laws which He "...endowed the world at creation with self-sustaining and self-acting powers and then abandoned it to the operation of these powers acting as second causes."    The Deist theology has often been portrayed as the Clock Maker Universe Theory -- i.e., (Quoting): "The clockwork universe theory compares the universe to a mechanical clock wound up by a supreme being, or initiated by the Big Bang. It continues ticking along, as a perfect machine, with its gears governed by the laws of physics, making every single aspect of the machine completely predictable. Before the emergence of quantum mechanics, many scientists believed that the Universe was completely deterministic in this way.   ...This conception of the universe consisted of a huge, regulated and uniform machine that operated according to natural laws in absolute time, space, and motion. God was the master-builder, who created the perfect machine and let it run. God was the Prime Mover, who brought into being the world in its lawfulness, regularity, and beauty. This view of God as the creator, who stood aside from his work and didn’t get involved directly with humanity, was called Deism (which predates Newton) and was accepted by many who supported the 'new philosophy'."  

If the Deist perception of God can be portrayed in the Clockmaker theology that once the clock is built and wound, it will thereafter function exactly as designed, the theist perspective of God is that of a tinkerer who has pieced together a jalopy that is in need of constant intervention in order to make the thing work.    The problem is that in the correct vision of Creation, both paradoxical opposite positions each possess degrees of truth -- and this truth can only be understood by a person of an evolved depth of vision and comprehension.   In the parable of the prodigal son, the Father does not come rushing into what is portrayed as the Far Country every time his lost son is in need or suffering a fate that he has brought upon himself.   And yet, when the parable is understood, it can be seen where both perceptions (the theist and Deist) are equally true -- i.e., it is stated that the son had a change of mind: “When he came to his senses, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have food to spare, and here I am starving to death!  I will set out and go back to my father and say to him: Father, I have sinned against heaven and against you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son; make me like one of your hired servants.’  So he got up and went to his father."    So it can be said that so long as the son remained attached to the thinking and lifestyle of this world, no intervention took place on the part of the Father.   Yet, we do have this intervention at a certain point: “But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and was filled with compassion for him; he ran to his son, threw his arms around him and kissed him."   And since the parables are representative of the universal plight of mankind, this intervention was personal, and in accord with the individuals spiritual condition.