Sabbath: The Lord's Day
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A
Praise the Lord brother,
The legalists do not understand that we do believe in the Sabbath but not as they want us to believe. They want us to keep the Sabbath just because it is in the decalogue but don't understand why the Lord commanded it, instead they heap up with the Bible verses which are not even relevant to the topic, in their arguments. This is what the Pharisees did because they never understood God's Word instead introduced various laws according to their convenience. They call themselves smart because they quote the verses not realizing that they should not handle the word of God deceitfully. They don't understand that we serve the law of God with the mind but with the flesh the law of sin and we don't walk according to flesh but according to the Spirit, for if we walk in flesh (that is observing the Sabbath in flesh) then we serve the law of sin. They show so many verses from the Bible but not one verse, Paul telling the gentiles to observe the Sabbath straight away, while Paul commands not to kill, commit adultery, steal, witness falsely and other commands of the decalogue.
The legalists do not understand that we do believe in the Sabbath but not as they want us to believe. They want us to keep the Sabbath just because it is in the decalogue but don't understand why the Lord commanded it, instead they heap up with the Bible verses which are not even relevant to the topic, in their arguments. This is what the Pharisees did because they never understood God's Word instead introduced various laws according to their convenience. They call themselves smart because they quote the verses not realizing that they should not handle the word of God deceitfully. They don't understand that we serve the law of God with the mind but with the flesh the law of sin and we don't walk according to flesh but according to the Spirit, for if we walk in flesh (that is observing the Sabbath in flesh) then we serve the law of sin. They show so many verses from the Bible but not one verse, Paul telling the gentiles to observe the Sabbath straight away, while Paul commands not to kill, commit adultery, steal, witness falsely and other commands of the decalogue.
L
The the real Jews are the children of the promise.
Rom 9:6 Not, however, that God's Word has failed. For not all those of Israel are Israel,
Rom 9:7 nor because they are Abraham's seed are all children, but "In Isaac a Seed shall be called to you." Gen. 21:12
Rom 9:8 That is: Not the children of flesh are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for a seed.
Heb 8:10 Because this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, giving My Laws into their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
You see we as a people are the true house of Israel not in blood but because we have the circumcised heart. So really we are all Jews spiritually speaking that is.
Col_3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Col_2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Rom 9:6 Not, however, that God's Word has failed. For not all those of Israel are Israel,
Rom 9:7 nor because they are Abraham's seed are all children, but "In Isaac a Seed shall be called to you." Gen. 21:12
Rom 9:8 That is: Not the children of flesh are children of God, but the children of the promise are counted for a seed.
Heb 8:10 Because this is the covenant which I will covenant with the house of Israel after those days, says the Lord, giving My Laws into their mind, and I will write them on their hearts, and I will be their God, and they shall be My people."
You see we as a people are the true house of Israel not in blood but because we have the circumcised heart. So really we are all Jews spiritually speaking that is.
Col_3:11 Where there is neither Greek nor Jew, circumcision nor uncircumcision, Barbarian, Scythian, bond nor free: but Christ is all, and in all. Col_2:11 In whom also ye are circumcised with the circumcision made without hands, in putting off the body of the sins of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ: Col 2:12 Buried with him in baptism, wherein also ye are risen with him through the faith of the operation of God, who hath raised him from the dead.
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know
approx 2 hr read.
puts the matter to REST absolutely.
It seems no one is going to get anywhere with certain people posting here who say Paul's teachings are Holy Scripture, and they are, however they really are saying they do not believe the teachings of the Master over Paul, and this my friends has all the trappings of a cult. These individuals seem to be caught up in their own delusion, and when someone is deluded, nothing can be done by anyone about them except someone gifted to recognize and cast out their problems. It is best to simply leave them to their own devices until they either repent or the Lord deals with them. We know there is little help for the holy people of God, Yahweh, in these times, and we do not want to be going against His will. Peace for all who are in Yeshua, Jesus, amen.
you might wish to look at any number of subsections in this article.
it's extremely well done, and expresses what i believe to be the biblical answers for this ongoing discussion.
you may be surprised.
in any case, it's offered.
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know
approx 2 hr read.
puts the matter to REST absolutely.
it's extremely well done, and expresses what i believe to be the biblical answers for this ongoing discussion.
you may be surprised.
in any case, it's offered.
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know
approx 2 hr read.
puts the matter to REST absolutely.
L
Act 28:24 And some believed the things which were spoken, and some believed not.
Act 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Act 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Give it a rest cenalen.
Act 28:25 And when they agreed not among themselves, they departed, after that Paul had spoken one word, Well spake the Holy Ghost by Esaias the prophet unto our fathers,
Act 28:26 Saying, Go unto this people, and say, Hearing ye shall hear, and shall not understand; and seeing ye shall see, and not perceive:
Act 28:27 For the heart of this people is waxed gross, and their ears are dull of hearing, and their eyes have they closed; lest they should see with their eyes, and hear with their ears, and understand with their heart, and should be converted, and I should heal them.
Give it a rest cenalen.
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oh, i'm fine. i rest in my Sabbath, the Seventh Day, Jesus Himself.
Colossians 2:16
Chapter 5
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. -- Col. 2:16.
....Bacchiocchi sees an overwhelming objection to this straightforward interpretation of Colossians 2:14. How can God be represented as crucifying the holy Mosaic law? (Rom. 7:12). How can guilt be removed by destroying law codes? (9) With such questions Bacchiocchi allows his theological presuppositions to override the plain sense of the passage. We would suggest, however, that the problem is solved, not by qualifying or softening what the apostle says, but by letting Paul state his case in his own way, irrespective of what that does to our presuppositions. We must resist the temptation to hack and hew the words of Paul in order to fit them into our own system. However contrary it may sound to our theological ethics, however much we may fear antinomianism, we cannot escape Paul's declaration that the regulations of the Mosaic law have been nailed to the cross. If this is difficult for the reader to accept, we appeal to him to be patient, for that is not the entire Pauline picture of the law question--as we will see in the next chapter.
The third aspect of Christ's victory is His triumph over "the powers and authorities"(Col. 2:15). These, together with sin and the law, are represented as holding us in bondage. In view of our Lord's threefold triumph, the apostle then declares:
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 that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.... Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations in-deed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.--Col. 2 16, 17; 20-23.
The context demands that we understand "a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day" as the regulations of the Jewish sacred calendar. The Puritans, and the Seventh-day Adventists following them, have argued that Paul is not talking about the Sabbath of the Decalogue but only about the Sabbaths of the ceremonial law. Aside from theological presuppositions which make it difficult for them to see that Paul could be talking about the Sabbath, they have "seen" two things in Colossians 2 which seem to justify their position:
1. They argue that there were two types of Sabbaths in the Old Testament--the weekly Sabbath of the decalogue and the ceremonial Sabbaths of the yearly festivals (Lev. 23).
2. They also argue that the Sabbath under consideration in Colossians 2 is "a shadow of the things that were to come" (Col. 2:17). Since the weekly Sabbath was a memorial of creation (Exod. 20:8-11), they argue that it could not be called a "shadow" (Gen. 2:2, 3). Colossians 2:16 must therefore be referring to the ceremonial rest days brought to view in Leviticus 23.(10)
These arguments are unsound for the following reasons:
1. The sacred times of Colossians 2:16 are called "a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." The sequence "implies annual, monthly and weekly observances." (11) Bacchiocchi agrees, even saying that this is "the unanimous consensus of commentators."(12)
2. This same annual, monthly and weekly sequence appears five times in the Septuagint--i.e., 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; Ezek. 45:17; Hosea 2:11.
3. Whenever the Old Testament links the New Moon celebration with the Sabbath, as in Colossians 2:16, it is referring to the weekly Sabbath (2 Kings 4:23; 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; Neh. 10:33; Isa. 1:13; 66:23; Ezek. 45:17; 46:1; Hosea 2:11; Amos 8:5).
4. When the Old Testament refers to the yearly Sabbaths, such as the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23), it calls them "a Sabbath of rest," which the Septuagint consistently translates with the compound Greek expression Sabbata sabbaton. Colossians 2:16 simply has sabbaton, the same word which Matthew 28:1 uses for the weekly Sabbath.(13)
5. It has been argued that since Paul calls the Sabbath of Colossians 2:16 "a shadow of the things that were to come", he could not be referring to the Sabbath of the Decalogue. But Colossians 1:16 has already declared that all things were made by Christ and exist for His sake. Adam himself was "a pattern of the One to come" (Rom. 5:14). Of course, the Sabbath, like all the great festivals recorded in the Old Testament, was instituted to point back to the mighty acts of God in creation or in the Exodus. But they not only pointed back; they also pointed forward to God's new creation and new act of deliverance at the end of time. It was common for the Jews to speak of the Sabbath as a foretaste of the unending Sabbath of the age to come.(14) Hebrews 4 is true to this tradition when it typologically links the seventh-day rest with the rest offered us in the gospel.
We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that Colossians 2:16 is referring to the weekly Sabbath. Bacchiocchi agrees with this but then uses a new approach in defending Sabbatarianism. He argues that Paul does not condemn the keeping of the Sabbath as such, but only its perversion by Jewish restrictions and oriental astrology. Here Bacchiocchi is partially correct. As we will see in the next chapter, Paul did not condemn the Roman Christians who kept a Sabbath to the Lord (Rom. 14:5, 6). The apostle, however, does not approve making the Sabbath celebration a law which is binding on the conscience. Paul does not merely tell the Colossians that the perverted regulations of the false teachers were nailed to the cross. He cuts all the ground from under their feet by saying that even the divine decrees respecting the Sabbath have been canceled. It is as if Paul were saying in Colossians 2:14, 16: "If God has canceled the regulations of His written code, you do not have to submit to the regulations supposedly imposed by angels or their agents.".....
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know
Colossians 2:16
Chapter 5
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. -- Col. 2:16.
....Bacchiocchi sees an overwhelming objection to this straightforward interpretation of Colossians 2:14. How can God be represented as crucifying the holy Mosaic law? (Rom. 7:12). How can guilt be removed by destroying law codes? (9) With such questions Bacchiocchi allows his theological presuppositions to override the plain sense of the passage. We would suggest, however, that the problem is solved, not by qualifying or softening what the apostle says, but by letting Paul state his case in his own way, irrespective of what that does to our presuppositions. We must resist the temptation to hack and hew the words of Paul in order to fit them into our own system. However contrary it may sound to our theological ethics, however much we may fear antinomianism, we cannot escape Paul's declaration that the regulations of the Mosaic law have been nailed to the cross. If this is difficult for the reader to accept, we appeal to him to be patient, for that is not the entire Pauline picture of the law question--as we will see in the next chapter.
The third aspect of Christ's victory is His triumph over "the powers and authorities"(Col. 2:15). These, together with sin and the law, are represented as holding us in bondage. In view of our Lord's threefold triumph, the apostle then declares:
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 that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.... Since you died with Christ to the basic principles of this world, why, as though you still belonged to it, do you submit to its rules: Do not handle! Do not taste! Do not touch!"? These are all destined to perish with use, because they are based on human commands and teachings. Such regulations in-deed have an appearance of wisdom, with their self-imposed worship, their false humility and their harsh treatment of the body, but they lack any value in restraining sensual indulgence.--Col. 2 16, 17; 20-23.
The context demands that we understand "a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day" as the regulations of the Jewish sacred calendar. The Puritans, and the Seventh-day Adventists following them, have argued that Paul is not talking about the Sabbath of the Decalogue but only about the Sabbaths of the ceremonial law. Aside from theological presuppositions which make it difficult for them to see that Paul could be talking about the Sabbath, they have "seen" two things in Colossians 2 which seem to justify their position:
1. They argue that there were two types of Sabbaths in the Old Testament--the weekly Sabbath of the decalogue and the ceremonial Sabbaths of the yearly festivals (Lev. 23).
2. They also argue that the Sabbath under consideration in Colossians 2 is "a shadow of the things that were to come" (Col. 2:17). Since the weekly Sabbath was a memorial of creation (Exod. 20:8-11), they argue that it could not be called a "shadow" (Gen. 2:2, 3). Colossians 2:16 must therefore be referring to the ceremonial rest days brought to view in Leviticus 23.(10)
These arguments are unsound for the following reasons:
1. The sacred times of Colossians 2:16 are called "a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day." The sequence "implies annual, monthly and weekly observances." (11) Bacchiocchi agrees, even saying that this is "the unanimous consensus of commentators."(12)
2. This same annual, monthly and weekly sequence appears five times in the Septuagint--i.e., 2 Chron. 2:4; 31:3; Neh. 10:33; Ezek. 45:17; Hosea 2:11.
3. Whenever the Old Testament links the New Moon celebration with the Sabbath, as in Colossians 2:16, it is referring to the weekly Sabbath (2 Kings 4:23; 1 Chron. 23:31; 2 Chron. 2:4; Neh. 10:33; Isa. 1:13; 66:23; Ezek. 45:17; 46:1; Hosea 2:11; Amos 8:5).
4. When the Old Testament refers to the yearly Sabbaths, such as the Day of Atonement (Lev. 23), it calls them "a Sabbath of rest," which the Septuagint consistently translates with the compound Greek expression Sabbata sabbaton. Colossians 2:16 simply has sabbaton, the same word which Matthew 28:1 uses for the weekly Sabbath.(13)
5. It has been argued that since Paul calls the Sabbath of Colossians 2:16 "a shadow of the things that were to come", he could not be referring to the Sabbath of the Decalogue. But Colossians 1:16 has already declared that all things were made by Christ and exist for His sake. Adam himself was "a pattern of the One to come" (Rom. 5:14). Of course, the Sabbath, like all the great festivals recorded in the Old Testament, was instituted to point back to the mighty acts of God in creation or in the Exodus. But they not only pointed back; they also pointed forward to God's new creation and new act of deliverance at the end of time. It was common for the Jews to speak of the Sabbath as a foretaste of the unending Sabbath of the age to come.(14) Hebrews 4 is true to this tradition when it typologically links the seventh-day rest with the rest offered us in the gospel.
We cannot, therefore, avoid the conclusion that Colossians 2:16 is referring to the weekly Sabbath. Bacchiocchi agrees with this but then uses a new approach in defending Sabbatarianism. He argues that Paul does not condemn the keeping of the Sabbath as such, but only its perversion by Jewish restrictions and oriental astrology. Here Bacchiocchi is partially correct. As we will see in the next chapter, Paul did not condemn the Roman Christians who kept a Sabbath to the Lord (Rom. 14:5, 6). The apostle, however, does not approve making the Sabbath celebration a law which is binding on the conscience. Paul does not merely tell the Colossians that the perverted regulations of the false teachers were nailed to the cross. He cuts all the ground from under their feet by saying that even the divine decrees respecting the Sabbath have been canceled. It is as if Paul were saying in Colossians 2:14, 16: "If God has canceled the regulations of His written code, you do not have to submit to the regulations supposedly imposed by angels or their agents.".....
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know
Finally, there is no example in Genesis of anyone who kept the weekly Sabbath. There is therefore no proof in Genesis that the weekly Sabbath was a creation ordinance. Someone might say that this is inferred, but dogmatic assertions require better support than an inference. When we are anxious to prove a point, it is easy to take too much for granted and to press Scripture beyond what it actually says.
Each of the six days of creation are said to have a beginning and an ending:
And there was evening, and there was morning---the first day.---Gen. 1:5.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the second day.---Gen. 18.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the third day.---Gen. 113.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the fourth day.---Gen. 1 19
And there was evening, and there was morning---the fifth day.---Gen 1:23
And there was evening, and there was morning---the sixth day.---Gen. 1:31
Why is not the same said about the seventh day? Why is every day said to end except the seventh? The work of creation was absolutely finished on the sixth day (Gen. 2:1). And because God's work was designed to endure forever, might not the rest also have been designed to endure forever?
We suggest, therefore, that the original Sabbath was an open-ended day, and unlike the other days, it was never designed to close. It was the real Sabbath, which lasts forever. Here both God and man could rest, not because either had become weary, but because both could rest in the fellowship of the kingdom of God. The banquet of love was fully prepared. What more could either God or man do but enjoy it forever? Nothing is said about interrupting this festival with six days of toil.
Since this was the original Sabbath, the sin of man was great and bitter---bitter for God as well as for man. For in his rebellion man marred the creation and abolished the Sabbath. God must now work again to restore that which was lost and to make all things new. Although this too would be God's labor of love, it would bring Him pain and agony and an infinite outlay of Heaven's treasure. But no price was too dear to pay for the object of His love. Thus, Jesus declared, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). In context, Jesus was saying that God did not cease working on the weekly Sabbath, and neither did His Son. Both were working earnestly for man's restoration.
The Sinaitic Sabbath law, enjoining six days of labor and one day of rest, was a teaching device to point man back to God's original creation. Each seventh day, man was to have respite from his "painful toil" (Gen. :17) and wearing "labor" (Exod. 20:9). He would thereby enjoy a little taste of the Eden Sabbath and remember from whence he had fallen. But like all the great festivals of the Mosaic calendar, the Sabbath would not only point back to God's first work but forward to God's last work, when He would make all things new. The weekly Sabbath therefore stood as a perpetual witness to the fact that the God who acted in creation and the Exodus (cf. Exod. 20:8-11 with Deut. 5:15) would act again at the end of the ages to restore the everlasting Sabbath. Thus, even Judaism understood hat the weekly Sabbath was "a foretaste already of eternal glory, which will be an unending Sabbath." (2)
That the weekly Sabbath was not the reality but a shadow which pointed forward to the reality is made clear by Paul's statement in Colossians 2:16, 17. Here he includes the weekly Sabbath in things which "are a shadow of the things that there to come." And then he adds, the reality [of the Sabbath], however, is found Christ." He is our rest as well as our peace and righteousness (Matt. 11:28: Eph. 14)
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know Reality of the SabbathChapter 12
Each of the six days of creation are said to have a beginning and an ending:
And there was evening, and there was morning---the first day.---Gen. 1:5.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the second day.---Gen. 18.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the third day.---Gen. 113.
And there was evening, and there was morning---the fourth day.---Gen. 1 19
And there was evening, and there was morning---the fifth day.---Gen 1:23
And there was evening, and there was morning---the sixth day.---Gen. 1:31
Why is not the same said about the seventh day? Why is every day said to end except the seventh? The work of creation was absolutely finished on the sixth day (Gen. 2:1). And because God's work was designed to endure forever, might not the rest also have been designed to endure forever?
We suggest, therefore, that the original Sabbath was an open-ended day, and unlike the other days, it was never designed to close. It was the real Sabbath, which lasts forever. Here both God and man could rest, not because either had become weary, but because both could rest in the fellowship of the kingdom of God. The banquet of love was fully prepared. What more could either God or man do but enjoy it forever? Nothing is said about interrupting this festival with six days of toil.
Since this was the original Sabbath, the sin of man was great and bitter---bitter for God as well as for man. For in his rebellion man marred the creation and abolished the Sabbath. God must now work again to restore that which was lost and to make all things new. Although this too would be God's labor of love, it would bring Him pain and agony and an infinite outlay of Heaven's treasure. But no price was too dear to pay for the object of His love. Thus, Jesus declared, "My Father is always at His work to this very day, and I, too, am working" (John 5:17). In context, Jesus was saying that God did not cease working on the weekly Sabbath, and neither did His Son. Both were working earnestly for man's restoration.
The Sinaitic Sabbath law, enjoining six days of labor and one day of rest, was a teaching device to point man back to God's original creation. Each seventh day, man was to have respite from his "painful toil" (Gen. :17) and wearing "labor" (Exod. 20:9). He would thereby enjoy a little taste of the Eden Sabbath and remember from whence he had fallen. But like all the great festivals of the Mosaic calendar, the Sabbath would not only point back to God's first work but forward to God's last work, when He would make all things new. The weekly Sabbath therefore stood as a perpetual witness to the fact that the God who acted in creation and the Exodus (cf. Exod. 20:8-11 with Deut. 5:15) would act again at the end of the ages to restore the everlasting Sabbath. Thus, even Judaism understood hat the weekly Sabbath was "a foretaste already of eternal glory, which will be an unending Sabbath." (2)
That the weekly Sabbath was not the reality but a shadow which pointed forward to the reality is made clear by Paul's statement in Colossians 2:16, 17. Here he includes the weekly Sabbath in things which "are a shadow of the things that there to come." And then he adds, the reality [of the Sabbath], however, is found Christ." He is our rest as well as our peace and righteousness (Matt. 11:28: Eph. 14)
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know Reality of the SabbathChapter 12
1 Corinthians 11:27 Therefore, whoever eats the bread or drinks the cup of the Lord in an unworthy manner will be guilty of sinning against the body and blood of the Lord.
I think when it comes to observing the Communion - like the Sabbath - it's a matter between God and Man. God is our judge, and I believe he will visit discipline or judgment on those who break his Sabbath until they learn.
I think when it comes to observing the Communion - like the Sabbath - it's a matter between God and Man. God is our judge, and I believe he will visit discipline or judgment on those who break his Sabbath until they learn.
yes. that's not anything to do with the weekly sabbath.
that's the NT ordinance of Communion.
esteeming one day over another is between each man and God.
but insisting a sabbatariaism saves is unbiblical and is childish. the pedagogue delivered the children to the schoolmaster until the child was of age, at which time he was not longer in need of the pedagogue. he had become a son, and an heir.
that's the NT ordinance of Communion.
esteeming one day over another is between each man and God.
but insisting a sabbatariaism saves is unbiblical and is childish. the pedagogue delivered the children to the schoolmaster until the child was of age, at which time he was not longer in need of the pedagogue. he had become a son, and an heir.
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It also contradicts Paul's previous statement if taken at face value. If we are to not judge anyone based on New Moon celebrations, Sabbaths, etc. then a number of questions come to mind:
1. Can we interpret these as being pagan? Because pagans also had New Moon celebrations. Should we not judge people for celebrating pagan holidays? Perhaps not, but God will.
2. Are these New Moon celebrations Jewish? Good possibility, even though the letter is written to the Corinthians. Does that imply that we should not observe Sabbaths and New Moon celebrations? No. Does it imply that God will not judge or correct us for improperly observing them? No.
3. If these are Jewish, then could it possibly mean that we should not judge others while they are observing these New Moon and Sabbath celebrations for the way in which they are celebrating them? I believe it could.
So we have some questions:
1. What are these festivals?
2. Are we to not judge people for observing them in any way?
3. Are we to not judge people for the way in which they observe them? What if they pray to angels on these days and afflict their bodies?
4. If we are not to judge at all, does this mean that God will not judge?
5. In light of these questions, is there enough evidence here to indicate a right and wrong way of observing these festivals or that these festivals need not be observed?
6. What if I told you that Communion was Passover, and it belonged to one of these festivals (assuming that these festivals are Jewish) until it acquired the name of "Communion" and its modern form as we see it today?
7. Is Paul telling us that God judges us for eating the Passover meal in an unworthy manner? I don't believe the word "communion" is found in the context of the Lord's Supper in the Bible.
8. If God judges us, then does Paul's mention of this judgment mean that Paul is judging us and thereby contradicting an earlier admonition?
By the way, I agree with your assertion that observing the Law does not save.
1. Can we interpret these as being pagan? Because pagans also had New Moon celebrations. Should we not judge people for celebrating pagan holidays? Perhaps not, but God will.
2. Are these New Moon celebrations Jewish? Good possibility, even though the letter is written to the Corinthians. Does that imply that we should not observe Sabbaths and New Moon celebrations? No. Does it imply that God will not judge or correct us for improperly observing them? No.
3. If these are Jewish, then could it possibly mean that we should not judge others while they are observing these New Moon and Sabbath celebrations for the way in which they are celebrating them? I believe it could.
So we have some questions:
1. What are these festivals?
2. Are we to not judge people for observing them in any way?
3. Are we to not judge people for the way in which they observe them? What if they pray to angels on these days and afflict their bodies?
4. If we are not to judge at all, does this mean that God will not judge?
5. In light of these questions, is there enough evidence here to indicate a right and wrong way of observing these festivals or that these festivals need not be observed?
6. What if I told you that Communion was Passover, and it belonged to one of these festivals (assuming that these festivals are Jewish) until it acquired the name of "Communion" and its modern form as we see it today?
7. Is Paul telling us that God judges us for eating the Passover meal in an unworthy manner? I don't believe the word "communion" is found in the context of the Lord's Supper in the Bible.
8. If God judges us, then does Paul's mention of this judgment mean that Paul is judging us and thereby contradicting an earlier admonition?
By the way, I agree with your assertion that observing the Law does not save.
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he's not talking about the Passover meal. He's talking about the bread (body) and wine (blood) supper The Lord gave us as a command to do, proclaiming His death until He returns.
Applying the Letter
of the Sabbath Law
Chapter 9
On the assumption that the letter of the Ten Commandments is eternal and all-inclusive, universally applicable and absolutely binding, Sabbatarianism insists that Christians are obligated to fulfill the letter of the Old Testament Sabbath commandment. Every feature of the Sabbath law given to an ancient nation is supposed to be binding on a civilization removed from the cultural situation of Israel by 4,000 years.(1) No allowance is made for the fact that the Mosaic Sabbath regulations were given to one nation living in Palestine with a simple agrarian economy, nor that ours is a highly complex, space-age society. The fact that the ancients knew nothing about a round world or the International Date Line is thought to have no bearing on the matter. The letter of Mosaic regulations is supposed to be followed in a post-Copernican world.
The best way to discredit an untenable thesis is to insist that it be carried to its logical end. We will proceed to do this with the Sabbatarian thesis.
The Seventh-day Sabbatarian says that we must rest not just one day in seven, but on the very day of the week on which God rested after He created the world. That is supposed to be 6,000 years ago. But even conservative Sabbatarian scholars are now constrained to admit that the world is more than 6,000 years old. The ancient Egyptian dynasties can be traced nearly that far back. How strange that we could lose a few thousand years from human records yet insist that not a single day has been lost!
Where does this original seventh day begin on a round world? Where does the sun rise first? Does the seventh day begin in Palestine, in Greenwich or at a place that our modern society calls the International Date Line? How do we know that the international community fixed the date line (which is not even a straight line) where God decreed it should be? The World Book Encyclopedia says that the "International Date Line is an imaginary line which marks the spot on the earth's surface where each new calendar day begins." (2)
Some Sabbatarians argue that since God Himself designated the seventh day in Palestine, we should reckon that each new calendar day begins in the Middle East. Since the earth rotates so that the day moves westward, the Sabbath in Australia would begin six hours after it begins in California, not eighteen hours before. This would make Sunday the seventh day for Australians.
A few years ago I met a seventh-day Sabbatarian who had given serious thought to this question. He argued that if we followed the letter of the law, Australians and all others on the same side of the International Date Line would keep the Sabbath after instead of before it is kept in the Western world. According to this reasoning, Sunday would be the Australians' seventh day. The fact is that calling any twenty-four-hour period the seventh day is both arbitrary and imaginary.
There seem to be about four ways to follow the letter of the Sabbath law on a round world. Three have been seriously proposed by groups of Sabbatarians. The first is to keep the Sabbath when those in Jerusalem keep the Sabbath. The second is to begin the Sabbath in the Middle East (assuming that the first day began in Eden and assuming that Eden was somewhere in the Middle East). This would not affect Western Sabbatarians, but it would mean that all Sabbatarians in the Far East would have to move the Sabbath forward one day. The third possibility is to begin the Sabbath at that "imaginary line" called the International Date Line. This would give us an "imaginary" seventh day. The fourth possibility is for the international community to alter the "imaginary line," which would require many Sabbatarians to change their day of worship. And why not, since they gave the international community the right to decide where to put the "imaginary line" in the first place? Would not one "imaginary line" be as good as another?
Determining the time to begin the Sabbath is also a problem. Seventh-day Sabbatarians generally prefer sunset, while first day Sabbatarians generally prefer midnight. The Bible seems to indicate that the Sabbatical period extends from "even to even." But when is "even"? Early Seventh-day Adventists hotly debated whether "even" meant six o'clock in the evening or sunset. Ellen G. White's vision in which she saw that "even" was sunset settled the question. But in recent years some specialists in the history of the ancient Middle East have shown that the Semites considered it to be "even" when they could see the stars, some time after sunset.
But what are Sabbatarians supposed to do north of the Arctic Circle, where it remains dark for several months each year? "Easy," some tell us. "Just calculate from the lowest and highest points of the sun." When I was in Norway recently, the Adventist Sabbath began in the Arctic Circle at 11:30 Friday morning. Sabbatarians were required to lose Friday as either a working day or a school day. Some were agitating a return to a six p.m. Sabbath commencement as a solution to this difficult problem. One of those pressing for a more liberal interpretation of the law was a high-school teacher. He said, 'We have to recognize that the law was drafted to suit the needs of an agrarian people living in Palestine, not a highly industrialized society living within the Arctic Circle."(3) A measure of sanity indeed!
Then we could ask about applying the letter of the Sabbath law to airline pilots, international travelers or astronauts.
Even Sabbatarians may now say, "these are silly, nit-picking questions". Of course they are! But those who choose to apply the letter of the law must find an answer to such silly, nit-picking questions. Letter-of-the-law Sabbatarianism is as viable in our modern world as the Flat Earth Society.
After deciding the correct time to commence the Sabbath, the real hassle begins. What is permissible and what is forbidden on the Sabbath? It is easy to ridicule the petty Sabbath restrictions of the Pharisees, but even the mighty Puritans found that once they committed themselves to the letter of the law, there was no end to its oppressive power. At the height of Puritan glory, one could dress a baby on the Sabbath but not kiss it. A man could comb his hair but not shave his beard.
When a minister skied to church, his board of elders accused him of desecrating the Sabbath. 'Why, mon, ye skied on the Lord's holy day," said one of the elders. The minister protested: "But that was the only way I could have come to the services. The snow was too deep to drive." "That's not the p'int," the chairman shot back at him. "The p'int is this: Did ye enjoy it?"
Seventh-day Adventists today would smile at the fastidious Sabbatarianism of the Puritans, yet their own communities have an elaborate tradition of what is permissible or not on the Sabbath. (4) A nature walk is good. A swim in the ocean is not. A pleasant nature ride is permissible if you take a bicycle but not a horse. You may enjoy a ride into the country in a car but not down the river in a boat. A nurse who works on the Sabbath is accepted in good and regular standing, but not a policeman - although both kinds of work may be equally necessary.
Such Sabbatarian traditions have an astonishingly strong hold on people--the kind of hold that Paul chides the Colossians for submitting to. Samuele Bacchiocchi argues that Colossians 2:16 does not disapprove of Sabbath-keeping but only of burdening it with arbitrary Jewish restrictions. Yet might not arbitrary Adventist restrictions be just as bad? Does not Bacchiocchi himself err when he contends for the letter of the law in the Saturday versus Sunday debate? How far is he prepared to press the letter of the law?
The fact is that no one can ever satisfy the letter of the law, and the entire history of Sabbatarianism proves this. Those who are married to the letter of the law can never be sure that they adequately perform it. What kind of a marriage is it when the husband is never satisfied with the wife's devotion and the wife is never sure that she complies with her husband's demands? (Rom. 7:1-6).
Pressing the letter of the law not only causes uncertainty, but it creates hostility. It creates secret hostility toward the law of God, which we ought to love (Ps. 119; Rom. 7:22). It also creates hostility between people, because it divides those who ought to be united. Devotion to the letter of the law inclines Christians to judge and accuse each other of breaking the commandments. Paul saw that "the law with its commandments and regulations" was a dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14, 15). No wonder he opposed those who wanted to erect this wall within the Christian church! (5) No wonder he said that "the letter kills"! (2 Cor. 3:6). The good news is that marriage to the letter of the law is terminated by the death of Christ (Rom. 7:1-6). The cross has canceled "the written code, with its regulations" (Col. 2:14). The spiritual energies of believers should not be distracted, much less dissipated, in arguments over the calendar. Believers should concentrate on that which increases faith and love. A religion committed to such external things as keeping days and observing food taboos has seriously misunderstood the spirit of New Testament faith.
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know Reality of the SabbathChapter 12
Applying the Letter
of the Sabbath Law
Chapter 9
On the assumption that the letter of the Ten Commandments is eternal and all-inclusive, universally applicable and absolutely binding, Sabbatarianism insists that Christians are obligated to fulfill the letter of the Old Testament Sabbath commandment. Every feature of the Sabbath law given to an ancient nation is supposed to be binding on a civilization removed from the cultural situation of Israel by 4,000 years.(1) No allowance is made for the fact that the Mosaic Sabbath regulations were given to one nation living in Palestine with a simple agrarian economy, nor that ours is a highly complex, space-age society. The fact that the ancients knew nothing about a round world or the International Date Line is thought to have no bearing on the matter. The letter of Mosaic regulations is supposed to be followed in a post-Copernican world.
The best way to discredit an untenable thesis is to insist that it be carried to its logical end. We will proceed to do this with the Sabbatarian thesis.
The Seventh-day Sabbatarian says that we must rest not just one day in seven, but on the very day of the week on which God rested after He created the world. That is supposed to be 6,000 years ago. But even conservative Sabbatarian scholars are now constrained to admit that the world is more than 6,000 years old. The ancient Egyptian dynasties can be traced nearly that far back. How strange that we could lose a few thousand years from human records yet insist that not a single day has been lost!
Where does this original seventh day begin on a round world? Where does the sun rise first? Does the seventh day begin in Palestine, in Greenwich or at a place that our modern society calls the International Date Line? How do we know that the international community fixed the date line (which is not even a straight line) where God decreed it should be? The World Book Encyclopedia says that the "International Date Line is an imaginary line which marks the spot on the earth's surface where each new calendar day begins." (2)
Some Sabbatarians argue that since God Himself designated the seventh day in Palestine, we should reckon that each new calendar day begins in the Middle East. Since the earth rotates so that the day moves westward, the Sabbath in Australia would begin six hours after it begins in California, not eighteen hours before. This would make Sunday the seventh day for Australians.
A few years ago I met a seventh-day Sabbatarian who had given serious thought to this question. He argued that if we followed the letter of the law, Australians and all others on the same side of the International Date Line would keep the Sabbath after instead of before it is kept in the Western world. According to this reasoning, Sunday would be the Australians' seventh day. The fact is that calling any twenty-four-hour period the seventh day is both arbitrary and imaginary.
There seem to be about four ways to follow the letter of the Sabbath law on a round world. Three have been seriously proposed by groups of Sabbatarians. The first is to keep the Sabbath when those in Jerusalem keep the Sabbath. The second is to begin the Sabbath in the Middle East (assuming that the first day began in Eden and assuming that Eden was somewhere in the Middle East). This would not affect Western Sabbatarians, but it would mean that all Sabbatarians in the Far East would have to move the Sabbath forward one day. The third possibility is to begin the Sabbath at that "imaginary line" called the International Date Line. This would give us an "imaginary" seventh day. The fourth possibility is for the international community to alter the "imaginary line," which would require many Sabbatarians to change their day of worship. And why not, since they gave the international community the right to decide where to put the "imaginary line" in the first place? Would not one "imaginary line" be as good as another?
Determining the time to begin the Sabbath is also a problem. Seventh-day Sabbatarians generally prefer sunset, while first day Sabbatarians generally prefer midnight. The Bible seems to indicate that the Sabbatical period extends from "even to even." But when is "even"? Early Seventh-day Adventists hotly debated whether "even" meant six o'clock in the evening or sunset. Ellen G. White's vision in which she saw that "even" was sunset settled the question. But in recent years some specialists in the history of the ancient Middle East have shown that the Semites considered it to be "even" when they could see the stars, some time after sunset.
But what are Sabbatarians supposed to do north of the Arctic Circle, where it remains dark for several months each year? "Easy," some tell us. "Just calculate from the lowest and highest points of the sun." When I was in Norway recently, the Adventist Sabbath began in the Arctic Circle at 11:30 Friday morning. Sabbatarians were required to lose Friday as either a working day or a school day. Some were agitating a return to a six p.m. Sabbath commencement as a solution to this difficult problem. One of those pressing for a more liberal interpretation of the law was a high-school teacher. He said, 'We have to recognize that the law was drafted to suit the needs of an agrarian people living in Palestine, not a highly industrialized society living within the Arctic Circle."(3) A measure of sanity indeed!
Then we could ask about applying the letter of the Sabbath law to airline pilots, international travelers or astronauts.
Even Sabbatarians may now say, "these are silly, nit-picking questions". Of course they are! But those who choose to apply the letter of the law must find an answer to such silly, nit-picking questions. Letter-of-the-law Sabbatarianism is as viable in our modern world as the Flat Earth Society.
After deciding the correct time to commence the Sabbath, the real hassle begins. What is permissible and what is forbidden on the Sabbath? It is easy to ridicule the petty Sabbath restrictions of the Pharisees, but even the mighty Puritans found that once they committed themselves to the letter of the law, there was no end to its oppressive power. At the height of Puritan glory, one could dress a baby on the Sabbath but not kiss it. A man could comb his hair but not shave his beard.
When a minister skied to church, his board of elders accused him of desecrating the Sabbath. 'Why, mon, ye skied on the Lord's holy day," said one of the elders. The minister protested: "But that was the only way I could have come to the services. The snow was too deep to drive." "That's not the p'int," the chairman shot back at him. "The p'int is this: Did ye enjoy it?"
Seventh-day Adventists today would smile at the fastidious Sabbatarianism of the Puritans, yet their own communities have an elaborate tradition of what is permissible or not on the Sabbath. (4) A nature walk is good. A swim in the ocean is not. A pleasant nature ride is permissible if you take a bicycle but not a horse. You may enjoy a ride into the country in a car but not down the river in a boat. A nurse who works on the Sabbath is accepted in good and regular standing, but not a policeman - although both kinds of work may be equally necessary.
Such Sabbatarian traditions have an astonishingly strong hold on people--the kind of hold that Paul chides the Colossians for submitting to. Samuele Bacchiocchi argues that Colossians 2:16 does not disapprove of Sabbath-keeping but only of burdening it with arbitrary Jewish restrictions. Yet might not arbitrary Adventist restrictions be just as bad? Does not Bacchiocchi himself err when he contends for the letter of the law in the Saturday versus Sunday debate? How far is he prepared to press the letter of the law?
The fact is that no one can ever satisfy the letter of the law, and the entire history of Sabbatarianism proves this. Those who are married to the letter of the law can never be sure that they adequately perform it. What kind of a marriage is it when the husband is never satisfied with the wife's devotion and the wife is never sure that she complies with her husband's demands? (Rom. 7:1-6).
Pressing the letter of the law not only causes uncertainty, but it creates hostility. It creates secret hostility toward the law of God, which we ought to love (Ps. 119; Rom. 7:22). It also creates hostility between people, because it divides those who ought to be united. Devotion to the letter of the law inclines Christians to judge and accuse each other of breaking the commandments. Paul saw that "the law with its commandments and regulations" was a dividing wall of hostility between Jew and Gentile (Eph. 2:14, 15). No wonder he opposed those who wanted to erect this wall within the Christian church! (5) No wonder he said that "the letter kills"! (2 Cor. 3:6). The good news is that marriage to the letter of the law is terminated by the death of Christ (Rom. 7:1-6). The cross has canceled "the written code, with its regulations" (Col. 2:14). The spiritual energies of believers should not be distracted, much less dissipated, in arguments over the calendar. Believers should concentrate on that which increases faith and love. A religion committed to such external things as keeping days and observing food taboos has seriously misunderstood the spirit of New Testament faith.
Sabbatarianism Re-Examined - What You Should Know Reality of the SabbathChapter 12
My interpretation of Communion is that:
1. It was never called Communion or the Lord's Supper (I don't think).
2. It was eaten on the day the Passover meal was eaten, and that wasn't just a coincidence.
3. It featured unleavened bread which came from the Passover meal.
4. Christ told us to observe it in remembrance of him.
One interesting thing about the Sabbath is that God believed the day was so important to be distinguished from the other days of the week that he had a man killed for picking up sticks on it. If you confused the day with another back then you would've been killed for the error. I also think that gives them a little extra incentive to properly keep track of it. Today in Israel their Sabbath is the seventh day of our week - Saturday. And since they had no clocks back then it was celebrated according to meteorological and astronomical phenomena - the same sun, moon and stars God had given us for times and seasons in Genesis.
I believe the Torah is the Constitution of Israel. The Jews added man-made laws to this Constitution - some of which may've been right and others which were certainly wrong. The purpose of those added laws was so that we would know how to observe the Torah in the proper way. But in the New Testament Christ tells us how we should interpret the Torah when he says that man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath for man, that the two laws on love were the greatest in the Torah and that they summed up the entirety of the Torah's teaching.
I think a lot of Christians today miss out on God's revelation and blessings as well as a more personal relationship with him, because they'd rather do their own thing and reject his laws. I don't think God cares if we follow man-made rituals so long as they don't contradict the rituals God, himself, enacted for us. Remember, the Sabbath was one of these rituals, but it was also "made for Man." How so? Well, it was made for Man's benefit. What does that tell you about the rest of his rituals? Could they also be made for Man?
I hear people give God's Torah lip-service and claim to love it, but they argue in opposition to it and don't put any of it into practice. I feel they are depriving themselves of knowledge, wisdom, blessing and revelation by so doing.
1. It was never called Communion or the Lord's Supper (I don't think).
2. It was eaten on the day the Passover meal was eaten, and that wasn't just a coincidence.
3. It featured unleavened bread which came from the Passover meal.
4. Christ told us to observe it in remembrance of him.
One interesting thing about the Sabbath is that God believed the day was so important to be distinguished from the other days of the week that he had a man killed for picking up sticks on it. If you confused the day with another back then you would've been killed for the error. I also think that gives them a little extra incentive to properly keep track of it. Today in Israel their Sabbath is the seventh day of our week - Saturday. And since they had no clocks back then it was celebrated according to meteorological and astronomical phenomena - the same sun, moon and stars God had given us for times and seasons in Genesis.
I believe the Torah is the Constitution of Israel. The Jews added man-made laws to this Constitution - some of which may've been right and others which were certainly wrong. The purpose of those added laws was so that we would know how to observe the Torah in the proper way. But in the New Testament Christ tells us how we should interpret the Torah when he says that man was not made for the Sabbath but the Sabbath for man, that the two laws on love were the greatest in the Torah and that they summed up the entirety of the Torah's teaching.
I think a lot of Christians today miss out on God's revelation and blessings as well as a more personal relationship with him, because they'd rather do their own thing and reject his laws. I don't think God cares if we follow man-made rituals so long as they don't contradict the rituals God, himself, enacted for us. Remember, the Sabbath was one of these rituals, but it was also "made for Man." How so? Well, it was made for Man's benefit. What does that tell you about the rest of his rituals? Could they also be made for Man?
I hear people give God's Torah lip-service and claim to love it, but they argue in opposition to it and don't put any of it into practice. I feel they are depriving themselves of knowledge, wisdom, blessing and revelation by so doing.
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A
Very pragmatic! Excellent. I was thinking on the same lines but didn't know how to put it right. God bless you.
This makes very clear that keeping of the Sabbath was meant only for Israel and it was possible for them to follow because all lived in one place and there was no contradiction of time zones.
This makes very clear that keeping of the Sabbath was meant only for Israel and it was possible for them to follow because all lived in one place and there was no contradiction of time zones.