Colossians 2 is commonly used as a witness against Yah’s Sabbaths, however, Yah’s Sabbaths are 100% bout the Messiah and have origins from Yah, not the world or paganism…
Colossians 2:20, “If, then, you died with Messiah from the rudiments of the world, why, as though living in the world, do you subject yourselves to it’s ordinances.”
Are the Sabbath (7[SUP]th[/SUP] day) and the Feast days ordinances of the world or are they from YHWH?
Genesis 2:1-3, “Thus the heavens and the earth were completed, and all their array. And in the seventh day the Mighty One completed His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had made. And the Mighty One blessed the seventh day and set it apart, because on it He rested from all His work which the Mighty One in creating had made.”
Leviticus 23:4, “These are the appointed times of יהוה, set-apart gatherings which you are to proclaim at their appointed times.”
Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one makes a prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary matters of the world, and not according to Messiah.”
Psalms 74:4, “Your adversaries have roared In the midst of Your appointments; They have set up their own signs as signs.”
Deuteronomy 12:29-32, “When YHWH your Father cuts off the nations from in front of you, and you displace them and live in their land, Be careful not to be ensnared into following them by asking about their gods (elohim), saying: How did these nations serve their gods? I also will do the same. You must not worship YHWH your Father in their way, for every abomination to YHWH, which He hates, they have done to their gods . They even burn their sons and daughters in the fire as sacrifices to their gods. Whatsoever I command you, be careful to observe and do it, you shall not add to it, nor take away from it.”
Colossians 2:16-23 is without a doubt a much debated and misunderstood passage, lets review it in context of the time frame, people who it was written about, the person who wrote it, the culture, the Law of the Most High and law of that time enforced by the religious leaders.
Colossians 2:16-23, "16 Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths, 17 which are a shadow of the coming things, and the body [is] of the Christ; 18 let no one beguile you of your prize, delighting in humble-mindedness and [in] worship of the messengers, intruding into the things he hath not seen, being vainly puffed up by the mind of his flesh, 19 and not holding the head, from which all the body — through the joints and bands gathering supply, and being knit together — may increase with the increase of God. 20 If, then, ye did die with the Christ from the rudiments of the world, why, as living in the world, are ye subject to ordinances? 2 thou may not touch, nor taste, nor handle — 22 which are all for destruction with the using, after the commands and teachings of men, 23 which are, indeed, having a matter of wisdom in will-worship, and humble-mindedness, and neglecting of body — not in any honor, unto a satisfying of the flesh."
16 “Let no one, then, judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a feast, or of a new moon, or of sabbaths,”
For Doing or not doing? Or Both? If we look at this verse in the context of the time and culture it was written in we may have an idea. The Pharisees and Sadducees were of the ruling class religiously, socially and economically. After captive Israyl left Babylon the calendar was altered and so were the Feast Days of YHWH, so if an individual did not keep a Feast Day or Sabbath according to what the Pharisees said they could be killed. 23 vols of man made “law” were made, now called the Babylonian Talmud, this is not the Law of the Most High and is purely man made religion.
The prophet Zecharyah was killed over this very matter and Yahshua Himself mentioned the murder;
Matthew 23:34-35, “Because of this, see, I send you prophets, and wise men, and scholars of Scripture, Some of them you shall kill and impale, and some of them you shall flog in your congregations and persecute from city to city, so that on you should come all the righteous blood shed on the earth, from the blood of righteous Heḇel to the blood of Zeḵaryah, son of Bereḵyah, whom you murdered between the Dwelling Place and the altar."
2 Chronicles 24:20-21, "Then the Spirit of the Most High came upon Zeḵaryah son of Yehoyaḏa the priest, who stood above the people, and said to them, “Thus said the Most High, ‘Why are you transgressing the commands of יהוה, and do not prosper? Because you have forsaken יהוה, He has forsaken you. And they conspired against him, and at the command of the sovereign they stoned him with stones in the courtyard of the House of יהוה."
The prophet Zecharyah (father of John the baptist) had a disagreement with the Pharisees about what day to keep the Day of Atonement, they commanded him to not honor it on the day YHWH said to but to rather honor the day they supplied, “the tradition of the elders”. Zecharyah chose to obey YHWH, and his body was killed because of it, and as we just read Yahshua scolded them on this matter.
And the Pharisess accused Yahshua and His disciples because they did not wash their hands before they ate:
Matthew 15:1-2, “Then there came to יהושע scribes and Pharisees from Yerushalayim, saying, Why do Your taught ones transgress the tradition of the elders? For they do not wash their hands when they eat bread.”
Finally they accused Yahshua of breaking the Sabbath. He did not break the Sabbath according to YHWH, if He did He could not have been the sinless/spotless Passover Lamb, but He did break the Pharisees man made Sabbath “laws”
Matthew 12:1-8, "12:1, "At that time יהושע went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. And His taught ones were hungry, and began to pluck heads of grain, to eat."12:2, "And when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Look, Your taught ones are doing what is not right to do on the Sabbath!”"12:3, "But He said to them, “Have you not read what Dawiḏ did when he was hungry, he and those who were with him:"12:4, "how he went into the House of יהוה and ate the showbread which was not right for him to eat, nor for those who were with him, but only for the priests?"12:5, "“Or did you not read in the Torah that on the Sabbath the priests in the Set-apart Place profane the Sabbath, and are blameless?"12:6, "“But I say to you that in this place there is One greater than the Set-apart Place."12:7, "“And if you had known what this means, ‘I desire compassion and not offering,’ Hos 6:6 you would not have condemned the blameless."12:8, "“For the Son of Aḏam is Master of the Sabbath.”a Footnote: aSee also Gen 2:2-3."
They were blameless because they were doing the work and will of YHWH, that is the purpose of the Sabbath, the pharisees made it about sitting in your house twiddling your thumbs...
Mat 12:12, "And how much more valuable is a man than a sheep? Therefore, it is Lawful to do righteousness on the Sabbath."
Mark 3:4, “And he saith unto them, Is it lawful to do right on the Sabbath days, or to do evil? to save life, or to kill? But they held their peace.”
Isayah 58:11-14, "YHWH will guide you continually, and satisfy your soul in drought, and make fat; (strengthen), your bones. You will be like a watered garden, and like a spring of water, whose waters do not fail. And those of you will rebuild the old waste places; you will raise up the foundations of many generations; and you will be called the Repairer of the Breach, the Restorer of Streets to Dwell In; If you turn away your foot from breaking the Sabbath: from doing your pleasure; your own business, your own pleasure, on My holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight; the holy day of YHWH honorable, and will honor Him by not doing your own ways, nor finding your own pleasure, nor engaging in idle conversation: Then you will find your joy in YHWH; and I will cause you to ride on the high places of the earth, and feed you with the heritage of Yaaqob your father, for the mouth of YHWH has spoken it."
Matthew 12:9-14, "12:9, "And having left there, He went into their congregation."12:10, "And see, there was a man having a withered hand. And they asked Him, saying, “Is it right to heal on the Sabbath?” – so as to accuse Him."12:11, "And He said to them, “What man is there among you who has one sheep, and if it falls into a pit on the Sabbath, shall not take hold of it and lift it out?"12:12, "“How much more worth is a man than a sheep! So it is Lawful to do righteousness on the Sabbath.”"12:13, "Then He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and it was restored, as healthy as the other."12:14, "But the Pharisees went out and took counsel against Him, so as to destroy Him."
1. It is lawful to do good on the Sabbath (Matt 12:1-8; 10-12; 24:20; Mark 3:1-5; Luke 6:1-10; 13:14-16; 14:1-5; John 7:22-23; 9:14; Mark 1:21; Mark 6:2; Luke 4:16; 31; Luke 14:1; 23:56)
Mark 3:1-6, "3:1, "And He went into the congregation again, and a man who had a withered hand was there."3:2, "And they were watching Him, whether He would heal him on the Sabbath, so as to accuse Him."3:3, "And He said to the man who had the withered hand, “Get up to the middle.”"3:4, "And He said to them, “Is it right to do good on the Sabbath, or to do evil, to save life or to kill?” But they remained silent."3:5, "And having looked around on them with displeasure, being grieved at the hardness of their hearts, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored as healthy as the other."3:6, "And the Pharisees went out and immediately plotted with the Herodians against Him, how to destroy Him."
Now back to Colossians 2:
Colossians 2:16-17, “Let no one therefore judge you in eating or in drinking, or in respect of a festival or a new moon or Sabbaths; which are a shadow of what is to come – but the Body of the Messiah.”
2 Thessalonians 1:5-10, “Clear evidence of the righteous judgment of יהוה, in order for you to be counted worthy of the reign of יהוה, for which you also suffer, since יהוה shall rightly repay with affliction those who afflict you, and to give you who are afflicted rest with us when the Master יהושע is revealed from heaven with His mighty messengers, in flaming fire taking vengeance on those who do not know יהוה, and on those who do not obey the Good News of our Master יהושע Messiah, who shall be punished with everlasting destruction from the presence of the Master and from the esteem of His strength, when He comes to be esteemed in His set-apart ones and to be admired among all those who believe in that Day, because our witness to you was believed.”
Revelation 14:13, "And I heard a voice from heaven saying to me: Write: Blessed are the dead, the ones dying in the Messiah from now on! Yes, says the Spirit: because they will rest from their labors, and their works do follow them!"
These are not things past but “Coming things”, and this translation is true the konie Greek. What coming things? The prophecies of YHWH or the “shadow”, is the 7 Feast Days and the weekly Sabbath are prophetic shadow pictures, the first 3 of the Messiah’s work as a Lamb, the last 4 of His return as a Lion, and the 7[SUP]th[/SUP] day Sabbath represents the true rest that is yet to come;
Luke 24:44-46, “And He said to them, “These are the words which I spoke to you while I was still with you, that all have to be fulfilled that were written in the Law, the Prophets and the Psalms concerning Me. Then He opened their minds to understand the Scriptures, and said to them, “Thus it has been written, and so it was necessary for the Messiah to suffer and to rise again from the dead the third day.”
There are 2 "it is done" statements, not everything has been fulfilled and thus perfected;
Fulfilled already
John 19:30, “So when יהושע took the sour wine He said, “It is done!” And bowing His head, He gave up His spirit.”
Fulfilled already- To be fulfilled in the future
1. Passover/First-fruits – Yahshua's Sacrifice(Passover), burial and resurrection (First Fruits – presenting Himself to YHWH)
2. Feast of Unleavened Bread – Removal of sin by Yahshua's perfect work as the Passover Sacrifice
3. Feast of Weeks – The blessing Holy Spirit of YHWH, coming into our lives stronger than ever
4. Feast of Trumpets – Yahshua's return and gathering of the Saints
5. Day of Atonement – Yahshua leads the army of YHWH to destroy evil rulers of this world and satan is chained for 1,000 years
6. Feast of Tabernacles – Yahshua dwells on earth for 1,000 years teaching truth and righteousness
7. The Last Great Day – satan is loosed and swiftly destroyed, the Kingdom of YHWH reigns forever
To be fulfilled in the future
Revelation 21:4-8, “And Yah shall wipe away every tear from their eyes, and there shall be no more death, nor mourning, nor crying. And there shall be no more pain, for the former matters have passed away. And He who was sitting on the throne said, “See, I make all matters new.” And He said to me, “Write, for these words are true and trustworthy. And He said to me, “It is done! I am the ‘Aleph’ and the ‘Taw’, the Beginning and the End. To the one who thirsts I shall give of the fountain of the water of life without payment. The one who overcomes shall inherit all this, and I shall be his Strength and he shall be My son. But as for the cowardly, and untrustworthy, and abominable, and murderers, and those who whore, and drug sorcerers, and idolaters, and all the false, their part is in the lake which burns with fire and sulphur, which is the second death.”
Colossians 2:8, “See to it that no one makes a prey of you through philosophy and empty deceit, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary matters of the world, and not according to Messiah.”
Again are these Feast days “according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary matters of the world, and not according to Messiah?” or are they 100% founded in Scripture created by YHWH and 100% about the works of the Messiah?
