The sabbath a perpetual covenant

Participant

Do we not define a covenant as a mutual agreement between two parties?

Is that not the description by which we recognize a covenant in the Bible?

Exodus 31:12-18, “And the Lord spake unto Moses, saying, Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, [the children of Israel here have the meaning of the blood descendants of Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, the twelve tribes, literally], “saying, Verily My Sabbaths ye shall keep: FOR IT IS A SIGN BETWEEN ME AND YOU THROUGHOUT YOUR GENERATIONS….”

Between God and whom?

The twelve tribes, or descendants of Jacob-Israel, God's chosen earthly race.

Now WHY?

“That ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”

Sanctify = set apart.

The Sabbath, then is their national sign, setting them apart from other nations and peoples, identifying them as God's chosen race.

Now does Sabbath keeping set one apart?

You and I know that it does.

The rest of the world sets us apart mighty quick when we begin to keep it.

“Ye shall keep the Sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you; everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death.”

Now death ordinarily means “cut off,” generally from God.

However, that the following words seem to define the meaning here.

“For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off FROM AMONG HIS PEOPLE.”

Cut off from God?

No, it says cut off from his people — Israel.

Cut off from being considered one of God's chosen earthly race of people.

So, then, consider an Israelite.

And, as you know, there is ample scriptural evidence that an outsider can be GRAFTED IN, and considered an ADOPTED child of Israel.

Why does violation of the Sabbath cut one off from Israel?

“To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, FOR A PERPETUAL COVENANT.”

Get that word COVENANT.

The Sabbath, then, is a covenant, all by itself.

And THIS covenant is given as a PERPETUAL covenant.

A WHOLLY SEPARATE AND DISTINCT COVENANT IN ITSELF.

Entirely apart from the Ten Commandments.

That is, God here takes ONE of those Ten Commandments, and makes a separate and distinct and perpetual covenant out of it.

God, the party of the first part, agrees to be their God that doth set them apart as His chosen people, provided the children of Israel, party of the second part, keep His Sabbath command.

Failure on the part of the party of the second part to perform their side of the covenant agreement annuls God's promise to keep His part of the agreement of setting them apart as His chosen people.

Thus, failure to keep the Sabbath breaks the covenant and cuts one off from being of Israel.

The passage continues, “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel FOREVER.”

The Sabbath, here is presented as the SIGN which God gave to Israel between Him and them.

It formed a new and separate covenant.

THIS covenant is a perpetual covenant, to be a sign FOREVER.

I am fully aware of the fact that this passage has been used time and again by both the Church of God.

But has it been used as a SEPARATE COVENANT by itself?

Has it been considered in the light here analyzed?

Let us analyze it further.

It is a SIGN between them, pointing to Him as their God, and to them as His chosen people.

So such a sign should point to Him AS GOD, and to them AS HIS PEOPLE.

Does this Sabbath sign do that?

Yes, in a way nothing else could.

The proof that He is God is the fact of Creation.

By pointing to Creation, by being a memorial of Creation, it points to Him as the true God.

Now how does it point to them as His people?

If you will notice whenever God has chosen anyone for special office, He has put them to the test of OBEDIENCE.

The test is always one of obedience, and if one can pass that test, they qualify for the office of being an Israelite, one of God's chosen.

Now consider Isaiah 56:3-7, and see, that by keeping the Sabbath, the national sign of Israel, an outsider may become grafted in.

I know Paul in the new Testament has quite a little to say about Gentiles becoming adopted Israelites, but Paul gives other qualifications.

Suppose now, the whole law, the Ten Commandments and all, were abolished, as the vast majority of churches contend.

Will any contend that this separate Sabbath covenant, this everlasting, perpetual covenant, was PART OF THE LAW OF MOSES?

I think they cannot.

It is distinctly separate, here.

A separate covenant by itself.

The national sign of Israel.

This covenant, surely, was not abolished at the Cross.

This covenant, surely, is still binding today.

Of course that involves the question of who, today is Israel?

Just the Jews?

The Jews who are the remnant of the house of Judah, plus the Ten Lost Tribes, who were a separate nation called the House of Israel.

Shall we say that Israel today is the saved people who keep the Sabbath, the national sign?

Paul appears to specify salvation and acceptance of Jesus Christ and His teachings as the requisite to becoming one of Israel.

According to this: Jewish Sabbath keepers who do not accept Jesus are cut off.

Further, according to Exodus 31:12-18, “converted” people who are not Jews, and who keep Sunday and not Sabbath, are not of Israel, because they have been cut off from Israel by rejecting Israel's national sign.

According to this, then, the body of Israel, today, becomes those who accept Jesus, observe His teachings and keep the Sabbath.

When we consider Israel in this light, ONLY Israel can be saved.

October 23, 2009 at 11:47 am#153015

Participant

Quote (Constitutionalist @ Oct. 23 2009,23:08)

Do we not define a covenant as a mutual agreement between two parties?

Is that not the description by which we recognize a covenant in the Bible?

Between God and whom?

The twelve tribes, or descendants of Jacob-Israel, God's chosen earthly race.

Now WHY?

“That ye may know that I am the Lord that doth sanctify you.”

Sanctify = set apart.

The Sabbath, then is their national sign, setting them apart from other nations and peoples, identifying them as God's chosen race.

Now does Sabbath keeping set one apart?

You and I know that it does.

The rest of the world sets us apart mighty quick when we begin to keep it.

“Ye shall keep the Sabbath, therefore; for it is holy unto you; everyone that defileth it shall surely be put to death.”

Now death ordinarily means “cut off,” generally from God.

However, that the following words seem to define the meaning here.

“For whosoever doeth any work therein, that soul shall be cut off FROM AMONG HIS PEOPLE.”

Cut off from God?

No, it says cut off from his people — Israel.

Cut off from being considered one of God's chosen earthly race of people.

So, then, consider an Israelite.

And, as you know, there is ample scriptural evidence that an outsider can be GRAFTED IN, and considered an ADOPTED child of Israel.

Why does violation of the Sabbath cut one off from Israel?

“To observe the Sabbath throughout their generations, FOR A PERPETUAL COVENANT.”

Get that word COVENANT.

The Sabbath, then, is a covenant, all by itself.

And THIS covenant is given as a PERPETUAL covenant.

A WHOLLY SEPARATE AND DISTINCT COVENANT IN ITSELF.

Entirely apart from the Ten Commandments.

That is, God here takes ONE of those Ten Commandments, and makes a separate and distinct and perpetual covenant out of it.

God, the party of the first part, agrees to be their God that doth set them apart as His chosen people, provided the children of Israel, party of the second part, keep His Sabbath command.

Failure on the part of the party of the second part to perform their side of the covenant agreement annuls God's promise to keep His part of the agreement of setting them apart as His chosen people.

Thus, failure to keep the Sabbath breaks the covenant and cuts one off from being of Israel.

The passage continues, “It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel FOREVER.”

The Sabbath, here is presented as the SIGN which God gave to Israel between Him and them.

It formed a new and separate covenant.

THIS covenant is a perpetual covenant, to be a sign FOREVER.

I am fully aware of the fact that this passage has been used time and again by both the Church of God.

But has it been used as a SEPARATE COVENANT by itself?

Has it been considered in the light here analyzed?

Let us analyze it further.

It is a SIGN between them, pointing to Him as their God, and to them as His chosen people.

So such a sign should point to Him AS GOD, and to them AS HIS PEOPLE.

Does this Sabbath sign do that?

Yes, in a way nothing else could.

The proof that He is God is the fact of Creation.

By pointing to Creation, by being a memorial of Creation, it points to Him as the true God.

Now how does it point to them as His people?

If you will notice whenever God has chosen anyone for special office, He has put them to the test of OBEDIENCE.

The test is always one of obedience, and if one can pass that test, they qualify for the office of being an Israelite, one of God's chosen.

Now consider Isaiah 56:3-7, and see, that by keeping the Sabbath, the national sign of Israel, an outsider may become grafted in.

I know Paul in the new Testament has quite a little to say about Gentiles becoming adopted Israelites, but Paul gives other qualifications.

Suppose now, the whole law, the Ten Commandments and all, were abolished, as the vast majority of churches contend.

Will any contend that this separate Sabbath covenant, this everlasting, perpetual covenant, was PART OF THE LAW OF MOSES?

I think they cannot.

It is distinctly separate, here.

A separate covenant by itself.

The national sign of Israel.

This covenant, surely, was not abolished at the Cross.

This covenant, surely, is still binding today.

Of course that involves the question of who, today is Israel?

Just the Jews?

The Jews who are the remnant of the house of Judah, plus the Ten Lost Tribes, who were a separate nation called the House of Israel.

Shall we say that Israel today is the saved people who keep the Sabbath, the national sign?

Paul appears to specify salvation and acceptance of Jesus Christ and His teachings as the requisite to becoming one of Israel.

According to this: Jewish Sabbath keepers who do not accept Jesus are cut off.

According to this, then, the body of Israel, today, becomes those who accept Jesus, observe His teachings and keep the Sabbath.

When we consider Israel in this light, ONLY Israel can be saved.

So now you are a Jew? That is what is setting the race apart and not people. We are Gentles and not Jewish.
We are under a New Covenant that Jesus gave us.
Luke 22:20 ….”This cup is the new covenant in My Blood, which was shed for you.”
Jesus also tells us what the greatest Commandment is in
Math.22:36-40
“Teacher, which is the greatest commandment in the law?”
verse 37 Jesus said to him:”You shall love your LORD your God with all of your heart, and all of your soul, and all of your mind.”
38″This is the first and great commandment.
verse 39 “And the second is like it:” You shall love thy neighbor as yourself.
verse 40 ” On these commandments hang all the Law and the prophets.”
If we should keep the Sabbath, don't you all think that Jesus would have said something about the Sabbath?
Peace and Love Irene

October 23, 2009 at 11:51 am#153017

Participant

Quote

Guess you didn't read it.

But this is the sum of what I wrote, this is God speaking, unless you think Isaiah was a crazy Prophet.

The Sabbath will also be kept when Jesus returns:

Isaiah 66:22 (NKJV) “For as the new heavens and the new earth Which I will make shall remain before Me,” says God, “So shall your descendants and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass [That] from one New Moon to another, And from one Sabbath to another, All flesh shall come to worship before Me,” says God.

So if you think you have claim to the New Heavens and a New Earth, then it pertains to you as well.

October 23, 2009 at 11:53 am#153018

Participant

Jesus was a Jew, born under the law (Gal. 4:4), and he did many Jewish things.

He:

Attended synagogues (Luke 4:16).

Observed Hanukkah (John 10:22).

Told people to obey ritual laws (Matt. 8:4).

Went to Jerusalem for the festivals (Luke 2:41).

Gave money to support the temple (Matt. 17:27).

As a law-observant Jew, Jesus would have kept many other customs, too.

He:

Had a sukkah booth each year.

Killed a Passover lamb each year.

Wore tassels on his garments.

Jesus did these things, so should we follow his example in these things, too? No. We do not imitate Jesus in every detail. We don't have to follow him like that.

Why should we follow him in one respect but not the others? We do not have to keep the Sabbath “just because Jesus kept it,” unless we find other biblical evidence that this command applies to Christians.

We should follow Jesus in his attitude of obedience. We want to obey God, but obey the instructions he has given us, not the rules he gave someone else. We do not have to keep old covenant laws unless they also happen to apply in the new covenant age.

In other words, the example of Jesus carries no weight on its own. As the above examples show, other biblical evidence is needed to see whether his example is something we should follow, whether it is commanded for us today.

We should also note that the Gospels do not preserve any example of Jesus “keeping” the Sabbath or “resting” on the Sabbath. Matthew, Mark, Luke and John apparently did not believe they needed to preserve such an example.

Instead, the Gospels show Jesus breaking traditions about the Sabbath, and never teaching any restrictions. Jesus set an example of activity, not of avoiding work. Indeed, he pointed out that God himself is working (John 5:17). God himself does not keep the weekly Sabbath; it is not part of his character, and therefore not part of the eternal and universal law.

October 23, 2009 at 11:55 am#153019

Participant

Thats what you think, right?

October 23, 2009 at 12:06 pm#153021

http://www.bible-truth.net/sabbathseries/abolish.html

Participant

Is is the real deal:

Did Jesus Abolish the Sabbath Day?

As you ask yourself that question, remember that God instituted the seventh day Sabbath at creation. In Genesis chapter 2 we see that God blessed and sanctified the seventh day. To sanctify means to set apart to God for a holy purpose. God also reiterated the importance of the Sabbath by writing it with His own finger in stone at the heart of the Ten Commandments. Jesus kept the Sabbath. Jesus' followers kept the Sabbath. God showed the prophet Isaiah that we would be keeping the Sabbath for eternity in Heaven. As you read the following arguments that people use to say that the Sabbath was abolished, ask yourself this question: “Are any of these instances enough to say that God altered His final act of creation and modified one of His Ten Commandments?”

Many people argue that Jesus routinely broke the Sabbath, and by His example the Sabbath was abolished. The Pharisees accused Jesus of breaking the Sabbath on a number of occasions. Jesus almost always responded in a way that identified the Pharisees as legalists who claimed righteousness based upon their own works. In His rebukes to the Pharisees, did Jesus effectively abolish the Sabbath commandment? Let's take a look at a few of these Sabbath confrontations to see if Jesus did, in fact, abolish the Sabbath day.

Matt 12:1-8
1 At that time Jesus went on the Sabbath through the grainfields, and His disciples became hungry and began to pick the heads of grain and eat.
2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to Him, “Behold, your disciples do what is not lawful to do on a Sabbath.”
3 But He said to them, “Have you not read what David did, when he became hungry, he and his companions;
4 how he entered the house of God, and they ate the consecrated bread, which was not lawful for him to eat, nor for those with him, but for the priests alone?
5 “Or have you not read in the Law, that on the Sabbath the priests in the temple break the Sabbath, and are innocent?
6 “But I say to you, that something greater than the temple is here.
7 “But if you had known what this means, 'I desire compassion, and not a sacrifice,' you would not have condemned the innocent.
8 “For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath.”

Mark 3:1-6
1 And He entered again into a synagogue; and a man was there with a withe .
2 And they were watching Him to see if He would heal him on the Sabbath, in order that they might accuse Him.
3 And He said to the man with the withe , “Rise and come forward!”
4 And He said to them, “Is it lawful on the Sabbath to do good or to do harm, to save a life or to kill?” But they kept silent.
5 And after looking around at them with anger, grieved at their hardness of heart, He said to the man, “Stretch out your hand.” And he stretched it out, and his hand was restored.
6 And the Pharisees went out and immediately began taking counsel with the Herodians against Him, as to how they might destroy Him.

Luke 13:10-17
10 And He was teaching in one of the synagogues on the Sabbath.
11 And behold, there was a woman who for eighteen years had had a sickness caused by a spirit; and she was bent double, and could not straighten up at all.
12 And when Jesus saw her, He called her over and said to her, “Woman, you are freed from your sickness.”
13 And He laid His hands upon her; and immediately she was made erect again, and began glorifying God.
14 And the synagogue official, indignant because Jesus had healed on the Sabbath, began saying to the multitude in response, “There are six days in which work should be done; therefore come during them and get healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
15 But the Lord answered him and said, “You hypocrites, does not each of you on the Sabbath untie his ox or his donkey from the stall, and lead him away to water him?
16 “And this woman, a daughter of Abraham as she is, whom Satan has bound for eighteen long years, should she not have been released from this bond on the Sabbath day?”
17 And as He said this, all His opponents were being humiliated; and the entire multitude was rejoicing over all the glorious things being done by Him.

Luke 14:1-5
1 And it came about when He went into the house of one of the leaders of the Pharisees on the Sabbath to eat bread, that they were watching Him closely.
2 And there, in front of Him was a certain man suffering from dropsy.
3 And Jesus answered and spoke to the lawyers and Pharisees, saying, “Is it lawful to heal on the Sabbath, or not?”
4 But they kept silent. And He took hold of him, and healed him, and sent him away.
5 And He said to them, “Which one of you shall have a son or an ox fall into a well, and will not immediately pull him out on a Sabbath day ?”

John 7:21-24
21 Jesus answered and said to them, “I did one deed, and you all marvel.
22 “On this account Moses has given you circumcision (not because it is from Moses, but from the fathers), and on the Sabbath you circumcise a man.
23 “If a man receives circumcision on the Sabbath that the Law of Moses may not be broken, are you angry with Me because I made an entire man well on the Sabbath?
24 “Do not judge according to appearance, but judge with righteous judgment.”

Notice in each of these accounts, the discussion is not about whether to keep the Sabbath day, but about how to keep it. Over and over again, we see Jesus and the Pharisees disputing what is lawful to do on the Sabbath. Over and over again we see Jesus demonstrating that it is lawful to do good on the Sabbath. He even reminds the Pharisees that as God's Son, He is Lord of the Sabbath. He ordained the purpose of the Sabbath from its very inception, and so He alone should be allowed to interpret what activities were consistent with that purpose. God's fourth commandment said simply for the people to keep the Sabbath day holy, to refrain from secular work, and to turn their attentions to God. The Pharisees had taken that simple instruction and blown it up into several hundred laws that specified exactly what one could and could not do on the Sabbath. This was common of most of the laws that God had given them. It was a point that Jesus admonished them for on a number of occasions.

Luke 11:46
46 But He said, “Woe to you lawyers as well! For you weigh men down with burdens hard to bear, while you yourselves will not even touch the burdens with one of your fingers.

Matt 23:2-5
2 saying, “The scribes and the Pharisees have seated themselves in the chair of Moses;
3 therefore all that they tell you, do and observe, but do not do according to their deeds; for they say things, and do not do them.
4 “And they tie up heavy loads, and lay them on men's shoulders ; but they themselves are unwilling to move them with so much as a finger.
5 “But they do all their deeds to be noticed by men

Matt 23:23-28
23 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you tithe mint and dill and cummin, and have neglected the weightier provisions of the law: justice and mercy and faithfulness; but these are the things you should have done without neglecting the others.
24 “You blind guides, who strain out a gnat and swallow a camel!
25 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you clean the outside of the cup and of the dish, but inside they are full of robbery and self-indulgence.
26 “You blind Pharisee, first clean the inside of the cup and of the dish, so that the outside of it may become clean also.
27 “Woe to you, scribes and Pharisees, hypocrites! For you are like whitewashed tombs which on the outside appear beautiful, but inside they are full of dead men's bones and all uncleanness.
28 “Even so you too outwardly appear righteous to men, but inwardly you are full of hypocrisy and lawlessness.

Mark 7:6-13
6 And He said to them, “Rightly did Isaiah prophesy of you hypocrites, as it is written, 'This people honors Me with their lips, but their heart is far away from me.
7 'But in vain do they worship me, teaching as doctrines the precepts of men.'
8 “Neglecting the commandment of God, you hold to the tradition of men.”
9 He was also saying to them, “You nicely set aside the commandment of God in order to keep your tradition.
10 “For Moses said, 'Honor your father and your mother'; and, 'He who speaks evil of father or mother, let him be put to death';
11 but you say, 'If a man says to his father or his mother, anything of mine you might have been helped by is Corban (that is to say, given to God) ,'
12 you no longer permit him to do anything for his father or his mother;
13 thus invalidating the word of God by your tradition which you have handed down; and you do many things such as that.”

Jesus' point about the Sabbath was the same as in these other circumstances. The burdensome laws that the Pharisees levied on the people were actually contrary to the laws of God that they were supposed to uphold. What a tragedy! The Sabbath was intended to be a day of rest and delight in the Lord. Instead, the religious leaders had turned it into a day of burden for God's people. This is the true error and sign of legalism. The legalists are always interested in the minimum standard, because their hearts are not true. Jesus reminds them over and over again that if they would get their hearts right with God, then obeying God's commandments would be a joy not a burden. God's commandments were never meant to restrict us, but to bring us joy and peace. Imagine what our world would be like if everyone obeyed all of God's Ten Commandments out of a sense of love toward God and each other. What a wonderful world this would be! God's commandments are not burdensome. God's Sabbath is not burdensome. The Sabbath is a delight.

Isa 58:13-14
13 “If because of the sabbath, you turn your foot from doing your own pleasure on My holy day, and call the sabbath a delight, the holy day of the LORD honorable, and shall honor it, desisting from your own ways, from seeking your own pleasure, and speaking your own word,
14 Then you will take delight in the LORD, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth; and I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father, for the mouth of the LORD has spoken.”

I Jn 5:3
3 For this is the love of God, that we keep His commandments; and His commandments are not burdensome.

God's commandments have always been for our good. The first four commandments tell us how to build and maintain our relationship with God. The last six tell us how to build and maintain our relationships with each other. God's commandments are not a burden; they are a delight. God's Sabbath day is not a burden; it is a delight.

Did Paul or the other Apostles or Disciples abolish the Sabbath with their instructions or teachings?

Col 2:14, 16-17
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
16 Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day–
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Some people use this text to argue that the Sabbath was abolished, and that Paul was instructing the Gentile believers not to keep the Sabbath. In fact, these people argue that not just the Sabbath, but all of the Ten Commandments were abolished and 'nailed to the cross'. But is that what the verse says? Let's look at the context to get a better picture of what Paul was saying here.

Col 2:8-17
8 See to it that no one takes you captive through philosophy and empty deception, according to the tradition of men, according to the elementary principles of the world, rather than according to Christ.
9 For in Him all the fulness of Deity dwells in bodily form,
10 and in Him you have been made complete, and He is the head over all rule and authority;
11 and in Him you were also circumcised with a circumcision made without hands, in the removal of the body of the flesh by the circumcision of Christ;
12 having been buried with Him in baptism, in which you were also raised up with Him through faith in the working of God, who raised Him from the dead.
13 And when you were dead in your transgressions and the uncircumcision of your flesh, He made you alive together with Him, having forgiven us all our transgressions,
14 having canceled out the certificate of debt consisting of decrees against us and which was hostile to us; and He has taken it out of the way, having nailed it to the cross.
15 When He had disarmed the rulers and authorities, He made a public display of them, having triumphed over them through Him.
16 Therefore let no one act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day–
17 things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

Let me show you a number of problems with this argument. First of all, although many Christians will argue that the whole law was 'nailed to the cross', they still consider things like stealing, lying, murder, and adultery to be sins. Secondly, Paul was talking primarily about Jewish traditions, which were added above and beyond the commandments of God. Notice he draws the same distinction that Jesus did between the commandments of God and the 'traditions of men'. Finally, note what was 'nailed to the cross'. Was it the Ten Commandments? No. It was a 'certificate of debt' consisting of 'decrees' which were 'against us' and 'hostile to us'. Are the Ten Commandments against us or hostile to us? No.

Paul was referring to many of the tenets, or 'decrees', of the Mosaic ceremonial law – the law of sacrifices. This fact becomes more evident in verses 16 and 17. Here Paul speaks about food and drink offerings and festivals and then he calls all of these things 'shadows of what is to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.' There were seven annual feasts in the Jewish ceremonial law which were called sabbaths, but which were distinct and different from the weekly Sabbath. All of these festivals pointed forward to Christ and His part in the plan of salvation. Below is a description of one of these feasts – the annual Day of Atonement, or Yom Kippur.

Lev 23:27-28, 32
27 “On exactly the tenth day of this seventh month is the day of atonement; it shall be a holy convocation for you, and you shall humble your souls and present an offering by fire to the LORD.
28 “Neither shall you do any work on this same day, for it is a day of atonement, to make atonement on your behalf before the LORD your God.
32 “It is to be a sabbath of complete rest to you, and you shall humble your souls; on the ninth of the month at evening, from evening until evening you shall keep your sabbath.”

But notice as we continue on in the same scripture passage that these ceremonial sabbaths were different and distinct from the weekly Sabbaths. It says 'besides' or apart from the 'Sabbaths of the Lord', which are the weekly Sabbaths. Notice that it also talks about food and drink offerings, or grain offerings and libations, just like Paul did in Col. 2:16.

Lev 23:37-38
37 'These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD– burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and libations, each day's matter on its own day–
38 besides those of the Sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts,
and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

These ceremonial sabbaths, along with their sacrifices, were shadows or symbols that pointed forward to Jesus. Jesus was our Passover sacrificial Lamb. He was also the First Fruits offering and is the one whose blood made atonement for our sins. These sacrificial offerings ceased to have any significance when they were 'nailed to the cross' with Christ, who was the One true Sacrifice. But the Sabbath was primarily a memorial to creation, not a shadow of something that pointed forward to Jesus. We can see the truth of this in Paul's actions. He never offered another sacrifice after he became a Christian, however, he kept the Sabbath regularly (see Acts 13:42-44, 17:2).

Here is another scripture passage that people use to argue that the Sabbath has been done away with in the New Testament.

Rom 14:4-6
4 Who are you to judge the servant of another? To his own master he stands or falls; and stand he will, for the Lord is able to make him stand.
5 One man regards one day above another, another regards every day alike. Let each man be fully convinced in his own mind.
6 He who observes the day, observes it for the Lord, and he who eats, does so for the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who eats not, for the Lord he does not eat, and gives thanks to God.

Sometimes it is good no notice what a verse does not say, before we go reading too much into it. Notice that this scripture passage says nothing about worship or about the Sabbath. Is it safe to infer that Paul was talking about the Sabbath day here? Probably not, especially when you consider the context. First of all, Paul's main point deals with judging one another. In His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus said that we shouldn't judge one another even about sinful actions. It is God's job to judge, no ours. We cannot be absolutely certain, but when Paul talks here about esteeming one day above another, he is probably referring to days of fasting which the Pharisees had established. God had not commanded these fast days; they were a tradition of the Pharisees. Notice the attitude of the Pharisees towards these traditional days of fasting in the following texts.

Luke 5:33
33 And they said to Him, “The disciples of John often fast and offer prayers; the disciples of the Pharisees also do the same ; but Yours eat and drink.”

Luke 18:11-12
11 “The Pharisee stood and was praying thus to himself , 'God, I thank Thee that I am not like other people: swindlers, unjust, adulterers, or even like this tax-gatherer.
12 'I fast twice a week; I pay tithes of all that I get.'

It is very likely that Paul is talking about these days of fasting that the Pharisees held as a tradition. Paul is certainly not talking about the Sabbath day. If he were going to do away with one of God's Ten Commandments, surely he would have used more direct language, and a well-developed argument. He does neither in this case.

People also argue that the Sabbath was simply a symbol of God's grace, and that the symbol was fulfilled in Christ. This argument is taken from the fourth chapter of the book of Hebrews. I have included almost the whole chapter here for you to read.

Heb 4:1-16
1 Therefore, let us fear lest, while a promise remains of entering His rest, any one of you should seem to have come short of it.
2 For indeed we have had good news preached to us, just as they also; but the word they heard did not profit them, because it was not united by faith in those who heard.
3 For we who have believed enter that rest, just as He has said, “As I swore in My wrath, they shall not enter My rest,” although His works were finished from the foundation of the world.
4 For He has thus said somewhere concerning the seventh day “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”;
5 and again in this passage “They shall not enter My rest.”
6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly had good news preached to them failed to enter because of disobedience,
7 He again fixes a certain day, “Today,” saying through David after so long a time just as has been said before, “Today if you hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.”
8 For if Joshua had given them rest, He would not have spoken of another day after that.
9 There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.
10 For the one who has entered His rest has himself also rested from his works, as God did from His.
11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter that rest, lest anyone fall through following the same example of disobedience.
12 For the word of God is living and active and sharper than any two-edged sword, and piercing as far as the division of soul and spirit, of both joints and marrow, and able to judge the thoughts and intentions of the heart.
13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are open and laid bare to the eyes of Him with whom we have to do.
14 Since then we have a great high priest who has passed through the heavens, Jesus the Son of God, let us hold fast our confession .
15 For we do not have a high priest who cannot sympathize with our weaknesses, but One who has been tempted in all things as we are, yet without sin.
16 Let us therefore draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and may find grace to help in time of need .

The Sabbath is indeed a symbol of grace. The Sabbath is symbolic of many things – grace, sanctification, justification, obedience (see the study entitled 'The Sabbath as a Sign'). The Sabbath is also a memorial of creation and our Creator God. Actually, it is not a symbol of all of those things, but a reminder of them. The sin sacrifices of the Old Testament were a symbol of Jesus' sacrifice on our behalf. After Jesus came and died, the symbols ceased to have meaning. In fact, to keep offering sacrifices would be to deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice. So in place of the animal sacrifices, Jesus instituted two reminders of His sacrifice – baptism and communion. By holding communion services, do we deny the sufficiency of Christ's sacrifice on our behalf? Certainly NOT! Rather, we reaffirm our faith in His sacrifice. This is also true of the Sabbath. The Sabbath is not a symbol of grace, but a reminder of it. As we observe the weekly Sabbath, we do not deny God's grace; we reaffirm our faith in His grace. The author of Hebrews says as much in verse 9. 'There remains therefore a Sabbath rest for the people of God.'

Finally, I want to note something very significant. The word 'Sabbath' appears in the New Testament 62 times. Sixty of those times are in the Gospels and the book of Acts. Every one of these references speaks, either directly or indirectly, about Jesus, the disciples, or the apostles keeping the Sabbath holy. Only two times does the New Testament use the word 'sabbath' in any other way.

I would like you to take a moment to compare the issue of the Sabbath with the issue of circumcision. The issue of circumcision raised such a dispute among the apostles that they all came together for a council in Jerusalem to settle the matter within the church. And circumcision was not even one of God's Ten Commandments. Do you think that it would be realistic to believe that the apostles would get so worked up over a secondary issue that involved breaking a Jewish tradition, and yet remain virtually silent if someone were attempting to do away with one of God's Ten Commandments? It doesn't make any sense. Yet, nowhere in the New Testament do we see the record of any such dispute about the Sabbath among Jesus' followers.

Paul had a lot to say about the relationship between the Law and Grace, as did the other Bible authors. His primary concern was to demonstrate which was the cause and which was the result. He rightly espouses
that obedience to the Law is the result of God's Grace. You do not earn God's Grace through the works of the Law. But in all of his writings, Paul never throws away any of God's Ten Commandments. In fact he repeatedly uplifts the Law of God, calling it 'holy, righteous, and good.' Neither does Paul, Jesus, or any of the other disciples or apostles ever even insinuate that the Sabbath day has been eradicated from the Ten Commandments. God's Ten Commandments never became the Nine Commandments. The Ten Commandments are just as true and valid today as they ever were. And Jesus is still the 'Lord of the Sabbath'. Won't you honor Jesus as your Lord and Savior by Remembering His Sabbath day and keeping it Holy?

October 23, 2009 at 1:15 pm#153023

Tim Kraft

Participant

The Law and the Prophets (Luke 16:16) were UNTIL John, SINCE THEN the Kingdom of God is preached. The end of the Old and the Start of the New.
Part One: There are multitudes of great doctrines, pages and pages of thousands of scriptures written very ambiguously with vague interpretations describing horrific destruction, chaos, pain and suffering. The religious world has worked overtime to make a spiritually discerned book understandable at the literal level. When you read the New Testament you must be born again to a new way of thinking. The Spirit of God has come to earth in the words of Truth from Jesus the Christ. You must see and perceive the meaning in dream form, metaphorically as a picture in the mind. Jesus spoke in parables, pictures, dreams. Only the spirit of God can reveal to you the Truth in this form. At the end of the old covenant John the Baptist arose to prepare the way of the Lord. The new way of the Lord was Spirit Truth. To prepare the people John Baptized with water. It was a metaphoric picture of washing the brain of the old way to prepare the new way. There was no baptism in the old covenant. He told the people, “I Baptize with water but the greater one cometh and he will Baptize with the Holy Ghost(the blessing)and fire(destroy the old way and those who won’t let go of it). All Truth from God is now to be contained within each individual human being. This is the Baptism(emersion) of the Spirit. Instead of an H2O baptism it is a baptism of the water of the word of God which is Spirit. Jesus came to wash you Spiritually clean! You are the Temple of God, Jesus is your light, Jesus is your true food, Jesus shows you the way to God, Jesus is your teacher, Jesus is the Truth. Jesus is the door of the Temple. Jesus is the sacrifice for cleansing in the Temple. Everything from God in the New Covenant is within the human body. Thinking must be changed to spiritual from physical to understand the Truth. Spirit manifests as Truth to you through understanding. In all knowledge of God seek understanding. You know when the light goes on within you. So there are great divisions amongst people as to right or wrong understandings of Gods words. The old way to try to get to God was by physical means. The New way to God is through the spirit words of Jesus. Jesus gave us the keys to the(non-physical) Kingdom of God. These are keys of understanding. One of the greatest foundational keys to unlock the New Testament Truth is timing. In the genealogies at the front of Matthew you will find groups of fourteen generations separating major events of God’s plan that led up to the end. The end of what? The earth and cosmos? NO! The end of the former old covenant religious world and it’s beliefs about God. They were lost in sin. They couldn’t find God. The end of the physical Temple worship was at hand. The New Covenant or True way to God was at hand. Gods eternal, Spirit words of Truth, were about to manifest. This was also the end of time. When the eternal, timeless words of God came, they are forever, that was the end of time. Jesus is the expressed word of God. All old covenant prophecy was until the time of Jesus’ ministry which is the establishment of the Kingdom of God which would rise up and never end. (Luke 16:16–Matt 11:13–Mark 1:15–Luke 24:25–Luke 24:44-) Here it is, JESUS CAME AT THE END OF THE OLD COVENANT RELIGIOUS WORLD ORDER! . Jesus was the fulfillment of all the law and the (Luke 24:44) prophets. The Sabbath rest spoken of before had come. The jubilee had arrived. The acceptable year of the Lord. Malachi said, I will send Elijah the prophet BEFORE the coming of “the great and dreadful day of the Lord”! Jesus interpreted John the Baptist as Elijah who was to come just BEFORE the great and dreadful day of the Lord. The great and dreadful day of the Lord is great for believers of the words of Jesus but dreadful for those who continue in the old testament works to God. Jesus came to end that religious world order of physical, brick and mortar Temple building worship, and the sin religion (mans ideas about God) that went with it! They were lost sheep that had gone astray and completely lost their connection with God. Sheep without a shepherd. Darkness covered the land. The light of Truth was nearly gone! Their minds were deluded with sin/error. They staggered like a drunk man, they were drunk with error!
Then Jesus came with the Truth of God that would end the old world church! The end of lies about God through deceptive religion! And, yes the Jewish hierarchy of the church, the leaders of the religious world hated him because the Truth was tearing down what they had built. They would have killed him themselves but couldn’t because it was against their Law to put a man to death so they insisted on the Government of the time to kill him. The Jewish leaders of that time, the highest religious men in the world insisted to have the Messiah, the Son of God, killed! These were the same self-proclaimed chosen of God. God is no respecter of persons he never special chose anyone. Any and all human beings were chosen of God or connected to God by faith. God says he dwells within you, do you believe it? God says you have been made perfect, sinless, and blameless in his eyes, do you believe it? God says I love you without condition (unconditionally), do you believe it? There never was never ever a bloodline lineage. Connection to God by man was always by faith. By faith Abraham (a Hebrew) was righteous, Noah was righteous by believing God, all mankind for all time has connected to God by faith because God has always been in man from the beginning. Yet if man wasn’t aware of God within he could not share the Love and Power. God in Man together as ONE! If you don’t believe you are one with God, then you are two, separated, not united as one! Just believe, no works.
In the fullness of time (or end of time) came John the Baptist, the cousin of Jesus, who came preaching in the wilderness (not in the church buildings), saying to the people, the Truth is here. You are going about service to God the wrong way. You must repent (turn around) from that religious way you are going(to the Temple) and learn anew. The Truth is at hand. The end of the old physical temple/church worship is now. It is the time for man to return to the original Spirit union and worship with God that was in the beginning in the Garden, for the Kingdom is at Hand (within reach). John came preparing the people for great religious change back to the true way of God which is Spirit/Truth within the mind. To see the original Truth one must wash away the old doctrines and re-create his mind with Spirit Truth which is from God within. John introduced Baptism with water as a metaphoric symbol of washing away the old beliefs of sin and separation to prepare to be born anew with God’s/Spirit words. This is the Gospel or good news, new covenant. This is the day/light of the Lord, the preaching of the good news of the unveiling of the Kingdom of God using a physical picture of Baptizing or immersing your mind with water for the cleansing of sin/error thinking. Former old covenant untruth being washing away or erasing former religious doctrines, ideas, rituals, and beliefs from the mind. John the Baptist was not a church authorized or licensed teacher, recognized by the organized temple leaders and here he was openly preaching and symbolically washing away the religious error of old covenant temple worship. There was no baptism in the old testament. The religious ones did not recognize the signs of the times. The religious ones still do not recognize the signs of the times. The end had come, the end is come! They
are still looking for the world to end with a big war. More on this foolishness later. Part 2 God Bless, TK

October 23, 2009 at 3:29 pm#153028

terraricca

Participant

to all
all the teachers of religion have the same flip-flop to justifying there explenations,to colect the money they go to the temple of jerusalem and the juwish law,to justify there big cherches they built they also go to the hebrew way and moses law and ordenances,even go to quote tradition.
this is rong.

October 23, 2009 at 4:03 pm#153033

Participant

Circumcision was also called a “perpetual” covenant (Genesis 17). Yet we know the apostles done away with circumcision (Acts 15).

Con denies that God established a new covenant.

thinker

October 23, 2009 at 4:07 pm#153035

Participant

Irene said:

Quote

What you want to do is keep the old in a new vessel. That simple does not work. Christ came down to earth and became the New Covenant in His Blood. I am not going to go into all the Scriptures that I gave you before. What yopu need to do is study it. The Sabbath was never meant to be for us. And it states that. Why in the world don't you want to believe Scriptures? We used to think the same thing in the W,W,Church of God, and we kept the Sabbath and all the Holy Days. If you read in Hebrew you will see that one more Covenant is to come yet. God will finally make an example nation ot of the tribes of Israel and Judah which He wanted to already in the first century. But His own people killed Him. But God is going to graft them back in again . You can read so in Romans.

Irene,
I agree with you on this one. Jesus said that new wine cannot be put into old wineskins, that is, the new covenant cannot be mingled with the old.

thinker

October 23, 2009 at 5:01 pm#153046

GeneBalthrop

Participant

To All………The Sabbath is one of the eternal commandments of GOD, it will never be done away with, it is the very symbol of how we are saved, it symbolizes (CEASING OF OUR WORKS) It is exactly what Jesus did he ceased from his work and let GOD work through HIM, it is the same with US we must cease from our works (ETERNALLY), and let GOD work in US (ETERNALLY). The sabbath (IS) a picture of how eternal life works and will never be done away with now or in the future ever. The same goes with all ten commandments they are eternal commandments. GOD does not remove his laws (ten commandments) he writes them on our hearts and minds, they are eternal. The problem is thinking the Sabbath is only one day when in fact it must come to be every day of our lives.

peace and love to you all……………………gene

October 23, 2009 at 5:02 pm#153047

NickHassan

Participant

Hi CON,
Indeed.
True Israel.

We must be grafted into the olive tree while these is still time.

October 23, 2009 at 5:19 pm#153050

Participant

Quote (Gene @ Oct. 24 2009,05:01)

peace and love to you all……………………gene

Gene, we are under a new covenant and we never were under the Sabbath, it was a sign between God and the nation Israel. Exodus 31:16-17. Read it and learn. I wonder how Jodi feels about that since she grew up in the W,W,Church of God. The new covenant under Jesus Blood Luke 22:20 and we are under grace in Ephesians 2:8-10 Where does it say that it is an eternal commandments for us. We are Gentles and not under that covenant that God made to Israel. In fact Paul tells us that some will keep one day and another will keep another day, and some keep all the days alike, to the LORD.
Peace and Love Irene

October 23, 2009 at 5:21 pm#153051

http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Noahide_Laws

Participant

Quote (Nick Hassan @ Oct. 24 2009,05:02)

Hi CON,
Indeed.
True Israel.

We must be grafted into the olive tree while these is still time.

Nick You are not making yourself clear by what you are saying. Please explain!!!!
Irene

October 23, 2009 at 5:41 pm#153053

bodhitharta

Participant

Quote (thethinker @ Oct. 24 2009,04:07)

Irene said:

Quote

Irene,
I agree with you on this one. Jesus said that new wine cannot be put into old wineskins, that is, the new covenant cannot be mingled with the old.

thinker

Why does everyone seem to think that one covenant must replace another?

Covenants are agreements it is possible for different people to agree on different things is it not?

I myself keep the Sabbath as a retreat from wordly concerns I do this from Fri-night to Sat-night. However, I do realize that this in my case is done from an understanding that I agree with.

God has made covenants all throughout the Bible He made “covenants” not an Old Covenant and a New Covenant but many Covenants with individuals and all of mankind at large.

After the flood God made a covenant with all mankind which was minus almost any dietary law:

The Seven Laws of Noah (Hebrew: שבע מצוות בני נח‎ Sheva mitzvot B'nei Noach), often referred to as the Noahide Laws, are a set of seven moral imperatives that, according to the Talmud, were given by God to Noah as a binding set of laws for all mankind.[1] According to Judaism any non-Jew who lives according to these laws is regarded as a Righteous Gentile and is assured of a place in the world to come (Olam Haba), the Jewish concept of heaven.[2] Adherents are often called “B'nei Noach” (Children of Noah) or “Noahides” and may often network in Jewish synagogues.

The seven laws listed by the Tosefta and the Talmud are[3]

Prohibition of Idolatry: You shall not have any idols before God.
Prohibition of Murder: You shall not murder. (Genesis 9:6)
Prohibition of Theft: You shall not steal.
Prohibition of Sexual Promiscuity: You shall not commit any of a series of sexual prohibitions, which include adultery, incest, bestiality and male homosexual intercourse.
Prohibition of Blasphemy: You shall not blaspheme God's name.
Dietary Law: Do not eat flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive. (Genesis 9:4)
Requirement to have just Laws: Set up a governing body of law (eg Courts)
The Noahide Laws comprise the six laws given to Adam in the Garden of Eden,[4] and a seventh (eating flesh from a living animal), which was added after the Flood of Noah. Later at the Revelation at Sinai the Seven Laws of Noah were regiven to humanity and embedded in the 613 Laws given to the Children of Israel along with the Ten Commandments, which are part of, and not separate from, the 613 mitzvot. These laws are mentioned in the Torah. According to Judaism, the 613 mitzvot or “commandments” given in the written Torah, as well as their reasonings in the oral Torah, were only issued to the Jews and are therefore binding only upon them, having inherited the obligation from their ancestors. At the same time, at Mount Sinai, the Children of Israel (i.e. the Children of Jacob, i.e. the Israelites) were given the obligation to teach other nations the embedded Noahide Laws. However, it is actually forbidden by the Talmud for non-Jews (on whom the Noahide Laws are still binding) to elevate their observance to the Torah's mitzvot as the Jews do.[5]

The point is that there are several types of covenants and some run concurrently with others and some are separated from others for instance Abraham, Ishmael and Isaac were all under the covenant of circumcision but God also made an additional covenant with Isaac it did not nullify or change the covenant of circumcision but also notice that the Noahide laws that were made with all mankind does not include circumcision therefore God said that those who entered into a covenant with Abraham must be circumcised but that doesn't mean that Lot for instance was circumcised at that time nor was any of those before Abraham.

Abraham may have received the covenant of circumcision because he had left his polytheistic relatives and God wanted to mark his flesh to separate him and all his people from the heathens.

Those accepting Christ Jesus entered into a covenant that did not nullify other covenants but was an additional covenant therefore those under the Jewish laws all 613 of them were still under the Law and those who were under the Noahide laws all 7 were still under them.

Jesus institutes another Covenant that removes many restrictions but he did not abolish the sabbath as he was a part of that agreement and instead he returned it to its original purpose which was to rest from “wordly things” saying it is lawful to do good on the sabbath.

October 23, 2009 at 6:15 pm#153055

NickHassan

Participant

Hi BD,
You speak of the chosen people?
The covenant was made with them and not the gentiles.
Those who are without the Law perish without the Law.. outside of Christ

October 23, 2009 at 6:44 pm#153060

Participant

bodhitharta said:

Quote

Why does everyone seem to think that one covenant must replace another?

bd,
It was God who replaced the old covenant with the new because He saw that the old did not work.

Quote

7 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. 8 Because finding fault with them, He says: “Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah— 9 not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.

Note that it says that there was a need for a second covenant because the first covenant had fault. It says that God found fault with the first covenant.

thinker

October 23, 2009 at 6:47 pm#153061

Participant

Quote (Gene @ Oct. 24 2009,05:01)

peace and love to you all……………………gene

Gene,
You are confused. Circumcision was also called an “everlasting” covenant. But the apostles discarded circumcision (Acts 15). If you're going to keep the sabbath then get the surgical tool ready.

thinker

October 23, 2009 at 6:53 pm#153062

Participant

Quote (thethinker @ Oct. 24 2009,06:44)

bodhitharta said:

Quote

Why does everyone seem to think that one covenant must replace another?

bd,
It was God who replaced the old covenant with the new because He saw that the old did not work.

Quote

Note that it says that there was a need for a second covenant because the first covenant had fault. It says that God found fault wit the first covenant.

thinker

Good going, thinker. If the old covenant would have worked there would have been no need for Christ to come and die for us. If you look in the bible from Genesis to Hebrew God has made different covenant with people. Abraham being the first covenant. The perpetual covenant He made with the children of Israel and not with us Gentles.
Of course I said this before. Some will never understand and I question why?
Irene

October 23, 2009 at 7:23 pm#153071