<\/p>\n
Sabbath\u2026\u2026\u2026Rest\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest. Matt.11:28 NIV<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n for anyone who enters God\u2019s rest also rests from their works\u00a0 Heb.4:10 NIV\u00a0<\/b><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/p>\n The institution of the Sabbath, which told mankind to \u2018remember\u2019, was given before mankind\u2019s fall into sin. Contrary to what we are often taught, it wasn\u2019t designed to stop what was about to happen, it was a needful provision\u00a0for\u00a0what<\/i>\u00a0was going to happen. The Sabbath was to become an integral part of the 10 commandment law. Word History: The verb \u201cbless\u201d comes from Old English bl\u0153\u0304dsian, bl\u0113dsian, bl\u0113tsian, \u201cto bless, wish happiness, consecrate.\u201d Although the Old English verb has no cognates in any other Germanic language, it can be shown to derive from the Germanic noun *bl\u014ddan, \u201cblood.\u201d Bl\u0153\u0304dsian therefore originally meant \u201cto consecrate with blood, sprinkle with blood.\u201d In many cultures, the blood of a sacrificed animal is thought to hallow and bring blessings upon the people and places that it touches. In the Biblical book of Exodus, for example, God punishes the Egyptians by killing the first-born son in every family, but the Israelites are able to protect their own houses from divine wrath by sprinkling the blood of a sacrificed lamb on their lintels and doorposts. The Angles, Saxons, and Jutes, the early Germanic migrants to Britain, would have originally used the verb bl\u0153\u0304dsian for the consecrations effected by their own pagan sacrifices. After they converted to Christianity, however, bl\u0153\u0304dsian acquired new meanings when it was used to translate the verb bened\u012bcere, \u201cto bless\u201d in the Latin Bible.\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>http:\/\/www.thefreedictionary.com\/bless<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The generic meaning of \u201csanctification\u201d is \u201cthe state of proper functioning.\u201d To sanctify someone or something is to set that person or thing apart for the use intended by its designer. A pen is \u201csanctified\u201d when used to write. Eyeglasses are \u201csanctified\u201d when used to improve sight. In the theological sense, things are sanctified when they are used for the purpose God intends. A human being is sanctified, therefore, when he or she lives according to God\u2019s design and purpose.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n http:\/\/www.biblestudytools.com\/dictionaries\/bakers-evangelical-dictionary\/sanctification.html<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The meaning of these words tells us that there was something more happening here than a mere celebration of creation. Remember when God made the world and its\u00a0 inhabitants it was \u201cvery good\u201d, perfect in every sense. Adam and Eve would need no reminder of God\u2019s love. If there were to have been no \u2018fall\u2019 there would have been no need for a Sabbath. There was something anticipatory about the Sabbath.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Sabbath was to be written into a law. The law is given when God\u2019s people are in rebellion against their Creator. The law is a fearful thing. When given upon Mt. Sinai it caused great fear and dread amongst the people. (Ex.19:16; Heb.12:18-21) In the New Testament it is called, the law of sin and death. Rom.8:2<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is the law that killed the Son of God. The law is not a representation of God\u2019s character. It represents His anger against sin. It is necessary in a sinful world. The Sabbath anticipates the law. It was to be written into the very heart of that law.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Is the Sabbath celebratory? It was celebratory of the ultimate rest that would be established in this world of sin when the Creator stepped into the timeline of this worlds history and took upon Himself the wrath and anger of God. This is illustrated by the fact that our Creator lay dead in the tomb on the Sabbath. The law, of which the Sabbath was an integral part, killed Him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is what God saw clearly when He instituted the Sabbath day. He knew what was going to transpire. To make the Sabbath into a day of socializing and celebration is almost missing the point of its true intent.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n To understand its true significance we have to go to the New Testament. So then, a sabbath rest still remains for the people of God; for those who enter God\u2019s rest also cease from their labors as God did from his. Heb.4:9,10 For we who have believed enter that rest. vs.3 NRSV\u00a0<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The Sabbath day commandment, in the very heart of the law ascribes to God his Creator-ship, His title, His justifiable worthiness. It is the line of demarcation between our \u2018doing\u2019 experience of the Old Covenant and our true, faith relationship with Father Creator God. <\/span><\/span><\/span>The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, it says, \u201cThe person who does these things will live by them.\u201d Gal.3:12<\/strong> NIV<\/span><\/span><\/span> Old covenant devotees worship as they need reminding every week of the Creator-ship of God. New covenant devotees are not dependant on a \u201cdoing\u201d relationship with God because Jesus, the Lord of the Sabbath, has fulfilled the law for them. They are not condemned by the law (given by the Creator, Lord of the Sabbath) they are upheld by their \u2018daily\u2019 experience with God. This is the \u2018daily\u2019 that is taken away by the Antichrist. (Dan.8:11-14; Matt.24:15) \u201cDoing\u201d or \u201cbelieving\u201d, is our choice. The \u201cweekly\u201d or the \u201cdaily\u201d. Many will choose the \u2018weekly\u2019 because the \u201cdaily\u201d is too demanding. <\/span><\/span><\/span>Wherefore the law was our schoolmaster [to bring us] unto Christ, that we might be justified by faith. B<\/span><\/span>ut after we come to Christ we are no longer under the schoolmaster. Gal.3:24,25<\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/span> This here is talking about the moral, 10 commandment law which includes the Sabbath.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The institution of the Sabbath which told mankind to \u2018remember\u2019 wasn\u2019t to stop what was going to happen, it was a needful provision\u00a0 for what was\u00a0<\/span>going<\/i><\/span>\u00a0to happen. To the Christian, their joy is in the risen Saviour. If the grave could have held Jesus there would have been no joy. Darkness would have covered the face of the earth. If the Creator, killed by His own standard of righteousness (the 10 commandment law which included the Sabbath) had remained in the grave there would have been no joy, no salvation. The world would not have moved beyond the condemnation of the law. But God\u2019s plan moved beyond the condemnation of the law. Because Jesus was a perfect sacrifice the demands of the law was satisfied. The law was fulfilled (Matt.5:17) and nailed to the cross.(Col.2:14) The question we need to ask ourselves is: should we rejoice in the fact that Jesus lay dead in the tomb on the Sabbath. Or should we rejoice in the fact that Jesus, having made the ultimate sacrifice, rose from the dead on the Sunday morning. Revelation 1:10 speaks of \u201cthe Lord\u2019s day\u201d. It is called the Lord\u2019s day in the context of the resurrection. (verses 5 and 18) Jesus says of that time: I am he that liveth, and was dead; and, behold, I am alive for evermore, Amen; and have the keys of hell and of death. Revelation 1:18 KJV<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n To the joy of Mary, His mother and His disciples, He came forth from the tomb after the law had been satisfied. So then, the law was our guardian until Christ came, in order that we might be justified by faith. But now that faith has come, we are no longer under a guardian, for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. Gal.3:24,25 ESV<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The sting of death, the sting of the law, had been taken away. It was nailed to the cross, forever nullified.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n From thenceforth, sin was not abstaining from or doing certain things. Sin was in rejecting what Jesus had accomplished. When he comes, he (the Holy Spirit) will prove the world to be in the wrong about sin and righteousness and judgment: about sin, because people do not believe in me. John 16:9 NIV<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Through the New Covenant, the Gospel, we don\u2019t want to hurt our fellow man. We rejoice in the goodness of God on a \u2018daily\u2019 basis not once a week. He is our Creator and Redeemer every day. In the words of the hymn, \u201cYou ask me how I know He lives, He lives within my heart\u201d.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The besetting sin of today\u2019s world and the church is unbelief. God\u2019s people are no longer dependant on obedience they are dependant on faith and trust. As one paraphrase has the courage to say: \u2026they were willing to live in the risky faith-embrace of God\u2019s action for them\u2026 Rom.4:14 Message<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is exemplified in the one commandment that stands out from the rest. The other nine are willingly accepted by a society leaning towards decency and fairness. The Sabbath alone stands out as coming from the hand of God. So, many will be saying, this proves the importance of keeping the Sabbath. Except that, this commandment, like the rest was fulfilled in Christ, nailed to the cross. Never more to accuse God\u2019s people.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In the Old Testament killing was killing and stealing was stealing and had to be punished. In the New Testament these things are the same but are of no interest to the Christian because the resurrected Jesus is in their heart and mind through the Holy Spirit. The Sabbath becomes a day, not of abstinence or doing good things. It has become established or fulfilled in Jesus. In the Old Testament sin was the transgression of the law. The New Testament places us all under the condemnation of the law. Not because of our actions but because of what we are by nature. (Rom.2:1)<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Therefore under the New Covenant righteousness is obtained not by obeying the law but by believing in Jesus.<\/b> The Sabbath in the Old Testament was anticipatory. In the New Testament it is fulfilled in our \u2018daily\u2019 experience with God.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n No one is impugning people who go to church on Saturday. They need to be commended for being prepared to appear different to other Christians. Their day of worship upholds God as Creator according to Genesis. It exposes the lie of evolution.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n It is important for this reason alone. It does not make its adherents commandment keepers for simply going to church on a different day.\u00a0God\u2019s people are commandment keepers only in as much as they abide in Jesus and His righteousness.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And\u00a0this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus\u2026\u2026.. 1John 3:23 ESV<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n In the New Covenant era there is nothing more \u2018blessed\u2019 in one 24 hour period of time over another.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n In 2011 there was an event that happened that bore this out. On that date the International Date Line was changed around the Pacific Island nation of Samoa.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n https:\/\/www.dailymail.co.uk\/news\/article-2080211\/Samoa-calendar-change-Samoans-lose-24-hours-island-moves-international-dateline.html\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a><\/p>\n The International Date Line is an arbitrary line running north\/south through the Pacific Ocean which determines the different days according to which side of the date line a country lies. To avoid having different days on opposite sides of a street the dateline meanders to avoid confusion in countries that have the IDL running through.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is perfectly understandable and accepted. Quoting a paragraph from the above article:<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n \u201cThe nation\u2019s seventh-Day Adventists are also divided over the change, and whether they should now observe the Sabbath on Saturday or Sunday.\u201d<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n This is all perfectly sensible and something that the nations of the world have to come to terms with. God does give us a sense of reason to contend with the modern world where there are time zones. This was unheard of and unknown in the ancient Old Testament world. People didn\u2019t travel far enough to realise any difference in the sunset or sunrise times. This came later in the 17th\u00a0and 18th\u00a0centuries (perhaps even earlier) when the great explorers began to circumnavigate the globe.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Because we live in the New Covenant era the Samoan church leaders need not have worried about the change of the worship day. The 4th\u00a0commandment was fulfilled in Christ. God is calling all Christians to abide in Him on a daily basis and then they will have the \u2018rest\u2019 that Paul talks about in Hebrews 4. For we who have believed enter that rest\u2026..for whoever has entered God\u2019s rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. Heb.4:3,10<\/span><\/strong><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n SDA\u2019s have been called to a very important role in this time of the world\u2019s history. They are embracing one of the original 10 commandments (Ex.20:8-11) which upholds the beautiful story of creation 6000 years ago. This is highly important in a world saturated with the godless theory of evolution. But by claiming to be the commandment keepers of Revelation 12:17 and 14:12 because of keeping a specific day, may be a little far reaching.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Clearly no one who relies on the law is justified before God, because \u201cthe righteous will live by faith.\u201d The law is not based on faith\u2026 Gal.3:11,12 NIV<\/strong> <\/span>As Peter said, He writes the same way in all his letters, speaking in them of these matters. His letters contain some things that are hard to understand\u2026. 2 Pet.3:16 NIV<\/span> <\/strong>That doesn\u2019t mean we are not to dig beyond a surface understanding. Never before in this world\u2019s history has there been such access to knowledge. Both at an intellectual and spiritual level. People today are able to think and reason for themselves. We are not dependant on someone to do our thinking for us. Many are afraid of being deceived. In these last days of earth\u2019s history God is calling us to more than just a surface reading of Scripture. We are not to base our experience on the knowledge of our forefathers. The Jewish nation did that 2000 years ago and paid a terrible price. God is calling for a holy boldness from His people. It may be that God is ready to pour out His blessing.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n And Jabez called on the God of Israel saying, \u201cOh, that You would bless me indeed, and enlarge my territory, that Your hand would be with me, and that You would keep me from evil, that I may not cause pain!\u201d So God granted him what he requested. 1 Chron. 4:10 NKJV<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/strong><\/p>\n Our puny efforts to keep the commandments will always fall short of God\u2019s perfect standard. The true Sabbath-rest is found by abiding in and surrendering to Jesus. This is not too complicated to understand.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n The following excerpt is from the Bible study tools link in this article.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n Old and new covenants are linked by Christ. For example, the Sabbath and other designated days were to be kept \u201choly\u201d (\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Gen 2:3<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Exod 20:11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0;\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Num 29:1<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>\u00a0). Christ is the Sabbath rest for believers (\u00a0<\/span><\/span><\/span>Heb 4:1-11<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/span><\/a>
\nWhen Jesus created the world his pathway to Calvary was already set. He was, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 NKJV<\/span><\/strong> Note, \u201cfrom the foundation of the world\u201d, not as we might expect, \u2018from man\u2019s fall into sin\u2019.
\nGod knew what was going to happen to His new creation. It didn\u2019t take Him by surprise. He is the God of eternity . Past present and future are all alike to Him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nThe setting aside of the Sabbath was a lot more than a celebration of creation. It was portentous of what was about to happen to God\u2019s creation. We are told in Gen.2:3 that this day was \u201cblessed\u201d and \u201csanctified\u201d. The Sabbath wasn\u2019t just a joyful memorial. It was much more. It had all the connotations of a blood sacrifice.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n
\nWhen Jesus created the world his pathway to Calvary was already set. He was truly, the Lamb slain from the foundation of the world. Revelation 13:8 NKJV<\/span><\/strong>
\nGod knew what was going to happen to his new creation. It didn\u2019t take Him by surprise. He is the God of eternity. Past, present and future are all alike to Him.<\/span><\/span><\/span><\/p>\n