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It is amazing how so many attack the physical oasis of God's Holy Day of rest and commitment to Him. While we are to walk and talk and abide with Christ all week long, this in no means does away with the Seventh-day Sabbath. It seems all avenues to the Sabbath DAY are being blocked by the enemy who will seek to draw all worship to himself. But before Sunday can be exalted, the work of breaking down the esteem for the day God has blessed, sanctified and told us to remember, must be accomplished. This is a work we see being done by many people in our present age. |
In Genesis is the Sabbath a Day or a Continual Time Period?
He asks: "Have you ever wondered how the Sabbath was a shadow of the reality that was to replace it, and that reality was Christ? Scripture is so clear on this point.
1. Notice first of all that Paul does not say that God wants people to stop observing the sabbath day... no, he says let no one JUDGE YOU IN HOW you eat and drink and in respect of the sabbaths.
Do not let man impose a false Sabbath on you and rob you of your inheritance. No where does it say God will not judge us -- indeed we must all appear before the judgement throne of Christ!
When we come to the seventh day, it clearly says "DAY", three times in the Genesis account. The word "Day" in the original carries the meaning of evening and morning. Also in the Exodus 20:10-11 passage, we read, "The seventh DAY is the Sabbath of the Lord your God....for in six DAYS God created,...and rested the seventh DAY wherefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath DAY and hallowed it." The word DAY jumps out all through these two passages, and one cannot separate the meaning of the 24 hour "day" as clearly given in the context of the whole passage, and give it a different meaning in one case, yet our challenger says:
Sin still separates! How many have walked face to face with Christ lately, completely free from sin? We still "see though a glass, darkly" and are still waiting for the time we can see Him "face to face". (1 Cor. 13:12) Eden was not restored at the time of the cross. Only it's final restoration was assured. And don't tell me people before Christ could not communicate with God in the same way we can today. We would be hard pressed to find another Enoch or Abraham or Daniel upon earth right now. How can modern people be so arrogant to say they are now restored to pre-sin conditions?
If , as the writer claims, it is a Shadow of Edenic conditions, it is still a shadow. For we have not yet reached those conditions. However, Isaiah 66:23 tells us, even in the earth made new we will gather together from one Sabbath to the next to worship God upon the Sabbath.
The deliverance of Israel from Egyptian bondage symbolizes God's deliverance of His people from the bondage of sin. God is in the business of delivering people from SIN so they can SERVE AND WORSHIP HIM. In this He desired them to see a promise of deliverance from sin. As the blood of the slain lamb sheltered the homes of Israel, so the blood of Christ is to save their souls; but they could be saved through Christ only as by faith they should make His life their own. It was not enough that the paschal lamb be slain; its blood must be sprinkled upon the doorposts; so the merits of Christ's blood must be applied to each individual life.--
1) The deliverance from Egypt by God's mighty hand should have given Israel the continual rest. Everyday they were to depend upon and serve their God through faith. The power of God which was manifested in a remarkable manner in their deliverance from Egypt, and seen from time to time all through their journeyings, should have inspired them with faith and gratitude to walk with HIM continually, to believe He is the God Who saves. They were offered the continual rest AND...
2) They were given the 7th day Sabbath rest. It is only as a person walks continually with the Lord, that keeping the 7th day Holy even becomes a possibility. It was because they did not enter the continual dependance upon God, that they also could not keep holy the 7th day Sabbath rest for we are told in Ezekiel that even there in the wilderness they polluted greatly God's Sabbath.
It is when a person refuses to walk with Christ all week that they end up polluting the Sabbath, even if they may be resting from actual physical work. And when a person refuses the spiritual oasis of "coming apart" to rest on God's special day each week, they drift away from Christ during the rest of the week as well.
An interesting side note on the gathering of the manna. This very analogy shows that during the week we must make conscious effort to "abide in Christ", to gather the manner, then on the Sabbath we rest and enjoy His presence in fullness!.
The Sabbath then and now is the special day when we set aside our labour (the gathering of manna) and all other distracting duties of life, and spend quality time with the Lord. This is HIS WILL FOR US. This will shield us from having our minds being overcome with the cares and distractions of this life, which can pull us away from the connection with Christ.
Deut. 5:15 -- Remember that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought you out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore [for this reason] the Lord has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day.
Could language be any clearer than this? That blood shed by the paschal lamb had separated them from bondage in Egypt and brought them by type to God. This was the basis of that statement by God --"Therefore the Lord your God has commanded you to observe the Sabbath day."
"Remember the seventh-day to keep it holy [FOR THIS REASON] for in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea and all that in them is and rested the seventh-day." Ex. 20:10
Why do they miss Jesus words that say, "The Sabbath was CREATED for mankind, [not only for the Jews]
It is interesting as well, when we back up a little in the history of Israel, to a time before they arrived at Sinai, a time before God revealed to them the commandments from the mountain top, before He made the covenant with them. Yes, it is interesting that God would say to them before He spoke to them the commandments: You mean they had commandments and laws before Sinai?
Of course, we know the Israelites were freed from Egyptian bondage so they could serve the Lord. But apparently the commandments and laws, as well as the Sabbath were already known before Sinai. Abraham, we are told, "obeyed God's voice, kept God's charge, commandments, statutes and laws.. (Gen. 26:5)
In succeeding ages this law was lost sight of. While the Israelites were in Egypt, they suffered grievous oppression at the hands of the Egyptians. After they had been in slavery for nearly four hundred years, God delivered them by a wonderful manifestation of His power. He revealed Himself to the Egyptians as the Ruler of the universe, One greater than all heathen deities. Israel was now free to serve God! At Sinai God reveals His will to them, as well as the gospel through the sanctuary.
We too can be freed from the bondage of sin by Christ. For what are we freed? (so we can serve ourselves and do as we think best) NO ! So we can serve the Lord, and keep His day Holy for it is the Lord that makes us holy (sanctifies us). And only holy people in the Lord, can keep God's holy day holy.
We have already seen that Israel was asked to remember the Sabbath even before Sinai. We've noticed Abraham kept God's laws, commandments and statues.
God also wants to make a covenant with each one of us personally, who are alive TODAY.
Does he mean that God did not offer redemption to Adam, and Seth, and Enoch, and Abraham and Jacob? --
They too had to offer the lamb of burnt offerings. They too had to separate themselves from the evil crowds. They too looked forward to Christ the Messiah.
How is it that people try to tell me God had no commandments, statutes and laws before Sinai? Sometimes we hear that God's telling Abraham to leave Ur are his "commandments, statutes and laws". No, his obedience to the call would be categorized as "obeyed God's voice". But Abraham is said to have kept God's commandments, statutes and laws-- this means much more then simply answering the call to leave Ur.
You made known to them your holy Sabbath and gave them commands, decrees and laws through your servant Moses. How striking is this type! The real "Rest of God" can only be known by those who have redemption through His blood, even the forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was most strictly a sign between God and His redeemed Children of Israel. .
For he who thinks he keeps all days really doesn't keep any day holy. All days are then suited for his own pursuits, business and secular goals.
Besides sanctification isn't a one time thing, it is a growing experience in the Lord. The Lord that sanctifies us. The text doesn't say they WERE sanctified, but that it is the Lord that sanctifies them. Sanctification isn't an outward thing, done in remoteness to the inner conditions of the heart. Sanctification is inner renewal through the grace of God. The text does not say, as the author tries to interpret, that they WERE sanctified and so God gave them the Sabbath. It says the Sabbath is a sign that it is God who sanctifies! The Sabbath which was given to the world as the sign of God as the Creator is here also the sign of God as the Sanctifier or Re-creator. The power that created all things is the power that re-creates the soul in His own likeness. To those who keep holy the Sabbath day [really regard it as holy, not just enforced resting] it is the sign of sanctification. True sanctification is a heart in harmony with God, abiding in Christ.
The argument that the Sabbath was not given to world because not all the world is saved, makes as much sense as saying Christ did not come to die for the whole world because the whole world will not be saved.
The Sabbath was given to the human race! But most of the human race reject it. It is true, only those who are in Christ can really keep it. Even the mere outward resting doesn't keep anything holy. We must keep the day in Christ--keep it in the spirit, not the letter. But indeed the redeemed will keep it! For it is a sign that God has redeemed and sanctified.
What is the curse? Before we can understand any of this we must be clear on what the curse is! The curse rests upon those who SIN! If anyone thinks that by his own good works he can remove that curse is under the curse still. Only Christ can remove that curse.
These people do not hesitate to speak evil of the law, and even make those who do not study the Bible for themselves, believe that the curse of God is upon them if they keep it. All we have to do, say they, is to believe in Christ,--come to Christ. The most fatal delusion of the Christian world in this generation is, that in pouring contempt on the law of God they think they are exalting Christ. What a position! In so doing, they array Christ against Christ. It was Christ who spoke the law from Sinai. It was Christ who gave the law to Moses, engraven on tables of stone. It was his Father's law; and Christ says, "I and my Father are one." The Pharisees held the reverse of the modern-position, but were in just as great an error. They rejected Christ, but exalted the law. And it makes little difference which position we take, so long as we ignore the true one,--that faith in Christ must be accompanied by obedience to the law of God.
We can have the satisfaction and assurance of knowing, that while they curse us, Jesus has pronounced a blessing. Says the true Witness, the only Begotten of the Father, "Blessed are they that do his [the Father's] commandments, that they may have right to the tree of life, and may enter in through the gates into the City." Rev. 22: 14.
For Jesus said, "In vain they worship me, when they set aside the commandments of God, to follow their own traditions. (Matt. 15:3,6,9)
Eph. 2.10
For we are his workmanship, created in Christ Jesus unto good WORKS, which God hath before ordained that we should walk in them.
Part Two: Colossians 2, Romans 14, Hebrews 3 and 4
Was the Sabbath only a Sign of Israel's Deliverance From Egypt?
Is the Person Who Keeps the Seventh-DAY Sabbath Laboring Under a Curse?"
Following we will look at the reasoning of Jack Gent, an ex-Adventist and compare it to our understanding. The original is in black. My comments are in blue.
Col. 2:16 -- Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a new moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things which were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ."
A translation closer to the Greek would read: "Let not anyone judge you in eating and in drinking or in respect of a feast or of a new moon or of sabbaths, which things is (are) a shadow of things coming (future), but the body is Christ's."
2. The body, (the church) is Christ's, that is, it belongs to Him, and in other passages like Romans 14, which also deals with "men judging" it makes it clear that man is not the judge of Christ's people, all will appear before Christ's judgment seat and give an account of themselves to HIM!
3. The above text is set in the context of "manmade" commandments and obligations. We must despise the rags of philosophy, traditions of men, elements of the world as not being in accord with Christ. (v. 8) Yet the challenger seeks to use these verses to abolish one of God's ten commandments.
4. Interestingly Paul refers to the shadow as foreshadowing something in the future "tense", not in the past tense as some translations render it.
Yes it is very plain that we are not to let any MAN judge us according to A MAN MADE SABBATH !!!! Far from abolishing the 7th Day Sabbath, this is a warning that the world will seek to judge us by a man made Sabbath.
In Gen. 2:15
they were told to dress and keep the garden. They had to name and take care of the animals, in other words they were placed as the caretakers of this world. They had dominion over the whole earth. They had work to do!
Then sin came in by their eating of the forbidden fruit in violation of this direct command of God. This brought separation from God, as sin always does. God's rest for them came to an end and they were driven from the garden.
They were driven from the garden because sin brings separation-- no longer could they walk and talk FACE TO FACE WITH CHRIST-- SIN SEPARATES. That is correct. They violated a direct command of God....Yet it is strange that this whole article by Jack was written for the express purpose of allowing people to break a direct commandment of God. "Remember the Sabbath DAY, to keep it Holy" (the seventh DAY). A command spoken by the voice of God, written by the finger of God, placed in the heart of the commandments of God.
"But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness: they walked not in my statutes, and they despised my judgments.. and my sabbaths they greatly polluted: ..for their heart went after their idols." (Ez. 20:13,16)
As a shadow of rest in Christ, two things are absolutely essential:
(1) That it be given consequent on redemption and for that very reason.(2) That it should be given only to those thus redeemed, as a mark or sign of their redemption.
Ex. 19:4 -- You yourselves [Israelites] have seen what I did to Egypt, and how I carried you on eagle's wings and brought you to myself.
This is speaking of their being redeemed from a life as slaves in Egypt, into being a special nation to God above all nations. It was to this redeemed people, and to them only, that the command was given,
"remember the Sabbath day to keep it holy."
Why do they not quote the scriptures that say,
Why do they not quote the texts that say: "I gave them my Sabbaths [FOR THIS REASON} to be a sign between them and Me, that they may know that I am the Lord who sanctifies them."
Exodus 16.23-30
This is that which the LORD said, Tomorrow is the rest of the holy Sabbath unto the LORD: bake that which ye will bake to day, and cook that you will cook today; and that which is left over store for yourselves to be kept until the morning. ..
And [the next day] Moses said, Eat that today; for today is the Sabbath unto the LORD: today you shall not find it in the field.
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the Sabbath, in it there shall be none.
And it came to pass, that there went out some of the people on the seventh day for to gather, and they found none.
And the LORD said unto Moses, HOW LONG REFUSE YOU TO KEEP MY COMMANDMENTS AND MY LAWS?
When Moses told the people that God had made this covenant with them personally, it was his assurance to Israel that God was personally interested in them, that He had made the covenant with them personally. They were to take it personal! It's like God making a covenant with Jacob, Jacob already knew the covenant had been made to Abraham, but when God made it personally with Jacob, it meant much more to him. It became more personal.
Indeed, in Genesis 26:5 we are told by God that Abraham obeyed God's voice, and kept God's charge, God's commandments, statutes and laws.
The combination of these same terms, "commandments, statutes and laws" are found in the charge given to Israel, "to hearken unto the voice of the LORD thy God, to keep his commandments and his statutes which are written in this book of the law, and turn unto the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul." (Duet. 30:10)
Gal. 5:4 NEB -- When you seek to be justified by way of law, your relation with Christ is completely severed.
Now what is Galatians is saying,
Gal. 3:10 "They which be of faith are blessed...but as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse for it is written, cursed is every one that continues not in all things which are in the law to do them."
If a person thinks that by stopping work at sunset, biting the lips all day Sabbath because they can't do their own thing, and then, the second the sun goes down, they go tearing out on the town -- while they have all day given not a thought to their dependance upon God and relationship with Him, nor spent the time with Him, if they think this type of "keeping" the sabbath will in anyway justify themselves before God -- they are sadly mistaken!
We can't justify ourselves by the law. That's what Paul is saying. The law can't justify, only Christ can justify. But that doesn't mean we now break God's ten commandment law. Do they think they can justify themselves by breaking the law?
For we are all the more under a curse if we deliberately go and sin -- Sin is defined by the transgression of the law. This concept that obedience to God's law brings us under a curse is the devil's BIGGEST LIE! This lie will cost many a precious soul eternal life!
Continue reading "Are they who keep the Sabbath Laboring under a Curse?"