This verse was written by Paul to the Colossian Christians when false teachers infiltrated the church. He wrote: “let no man judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of any holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days which are a shadow of things to come”.
Today’s church has interpreted this passage to mean that God sanctions the cancellation of the sabbath and feasts. Many scholars think this is a misinterpretation.
The letter to the Colossians was written to a church of Christian gentiles whose church had false teachers that infiltrated them. These false men taught not to touch, not to taste, not to handle as the Colossians were doing as they enjoyed the feasts and Sabbaths. They taught Gnosticism, whose teachings were to not be part of anything physical but keep to the spiritual. The Lord teaches to celebrate, be joyful, feast at God’s festivals.
Paul warns against following men’s direction rather than the Lord’s, yet this verse is interpreted to mean that we are not to be judged if we follow the dates set up by men rather than God. It is men who decided that Sunday should be the sabbath because the discovery of Christ being gone from the grave was on Sunday, not because of a scripture teaching.
We are taught how to interpret scripture, and one way is to remember all the characteristics of God and know each verse is by a God with these characteristics. One characteristic is that God is eternal and never changes. What God tells us in Genesis is the same as what God tells us in Revelation. If God teaches to listen to God not man in one place, we are to know it applies in every case. Because God taught through ordering physical acts like special diet and cutting flesh and changed to teach these things through the Holy Spirit, people say God changed, but God didn’t. They teach he same things. Changing the way of telling us the same things is not a fundamental change.
What many believe Paul was teaching in Col. 2:16 was to go ahead to the joy of the celebrations that are shadows of things to come.
It is quite a new interpretation, what do you think?
I suggest that you study Gnosticism.
Gnosticism had a Jewish element and a Greek element.
"Great Courses" has some lectures on Gnosticism by a secular scholar and he mentions this.
By the way, these individuals were occupied in judging Gentiles, apparently. What does this tell you?
As an ex-Judaizer, I would encourage folks to study the NT writings from Acts forward, to see that there was a heavy influx of Judaizers who CONTINUALLY tried to claim that observance of days and dietary restrictions were required. Paul and other authors warned about them over and over again. Paul called them "dogs".
They would follow him around, after he won Gentile converts, and attempt to subvert their faith in Christ, talking them into observing days and diets.
By the way, if you think the issue was physical circumcision alone, you are wrong. Physical circumcision, in Jewish society, meant that one was subjecting himself to the Mosaic Covenant. It was only the entry-level event, much like the marriage ceremony is the entry-level event related to marriage. Physical circumcision was committing one's self to the Mosaic Covenant. Sabbath was a weekly reminder of the Mosaic Covenant.
That being said, I have no issue with those who would like to observe the Sabbath, but don't judge others for observing the LORD's Day.
However, you will find that isn't the agenda with the original poster, or a few others on this site. They are actually judging others as being inferior Christians or non-Christians. I was exactly the same as a Judaizer member of an Armstrongite cult.
The belief of many Sabbathkeepers is that non-Sabbathkeepers are following Roman Catholicism, and are under the Mark of the Beast due to their Sunday observance. Some don't even consider them to be Christians. That was my position about non-Sabbathkeepers, until the LORD liberated me from their theology.
God implemented Sabbath and meat laws to distance Israel, who was not a spiritual nation for the most part, from the Gentile nations.
By the way, I posted a good article on the meat laws that discusses these "separation commandments". The same principle applies regarding days.
Most of all, though, it would be interesting if you could go back and review the posts of the original poster. See how many of the posts relate to judging others over days and diet, compared to the total posts. I imagine it will be significant.
Also, compare Colossians 2:16-17 to Hebrews 10:1-4 and 9:9-11. Print them out. Look at them side by side. Note the similar language Paul employs with regards to the ceremonial law and the Sabbath, festivals and new moons.
It is clear that Paul relates days in the same context as the ceremonial law, which is no longer in effect.