there seems to be a lot of confusion about the Sabbath, who it was for, and why Christians do not observe it. The Bible clearly tells us in Exodus 31:14-17, that the Sabbath was established for the Jews only. It was a sign to them. It was established in Exodus Chapter 20, in the wilderness, after God freed the Jews from their slavery to the Egyptians.

I hope this explanation helps. I have always believed in Keeping things simple.

In His Shade
Erick :-)

Dear Erick,

You said that [i]Sabbath was established for the Jews only[/i]

I have never been able to understand how Christians feel free to 'pick and choose' which commandments to obey, and, especially, the practice of embracing the promises and blessings given to Israel, without any consideration for the preceding verses which usually speak of the requirements for such a blessing.

Paul covers this in Romans when he speaks of the gentiles being grafted in to the people of God.

This poem always comes to mind when I hear these types of arguments:

[b][color=000000]’It's Jewish’
[circa mid to late 1800's]

When we present God's holy law,
And arguments from scripture draw,
Objectors say, to pick a flaw,
'It's Jewish.'

Though at the first Most High blessed
And sanctified His day of rest,
The same belief is still expressed,
'It's Jewish.'

Though with the world this rest began,
And thence through all Scriptures ran,
And Yeshua said "'twas made for man"--
'It's Jewish.'

Though not with Jewish rites,
which passed,
But with the moral law 'twas classed,
Which must exist while time shall last,
'It's Jewish.'

If from the Bible we present
The Sabbath's meaning and intent,
This answers every argument--
'It's Jewish.'

Though the disciples, Luke and Paul,
Continue still this rest to call
The 'Sabbath day', this answers all:
'It's Jewish.'

The good news teacher's plain expression,
That " Sin is of the law's transgression,"
Seems not to make the least impression--
'It's Jewish.'

They love the rest of man's invention,
But if the LORD's day we mention,
This puts an end to all contention:
'It's Jewish.'

O ye who thus GoD's day abuse,
Simply because 'twas kept by Jews,
The Savior, too, you must refuse,
He's Jewish.

The Scriptures, then, we may expect
For the same reason you'll reject;
For if you will but recollect,
They're Jewish.

Thus the apostles, too, must fall;
For Andrew, Peter, James, and Paul,
Thomas, Matthew, John, and all
Were Jewish.

So to your helpless state resign
Yourself in wretchedness to pine;
Salvation, surely you'll decline,
It's Jewish.[/b][/color]

Stephen

here we go again..hey guys, there is a thread like 12-13 pages going on about that if you want to continue the talk about the sabbath. it seems like all of this stuff was answered many times over on there. :-(

just a fyi. ;-)
phil

I would like to bring to our attention the decision (one of many) handed down by a Church Council of the 4th century, the time when doctrines and dogmas were being formulated.

Before this edit was decreed by the Church Council, Constantine had decreed (March 7, 321) Dies Solis — Day of the Sun, "Sunday" — as the Roman day of rest, in keeping with the pagan cult of Sol Invictus, the Invincible Sun Cult:

[b][i]"On the venerable day of the Sun let the magistrates and people residing in cities rest, and let all workshops be closed...[/i][/b]

It appears that the emperor Constantine, in his capacity as Pontifex Maximus, was only adding the day of the Sun, (the worship of which was then firmly established in the Roman Empire), to the other ferial days of the sacred calendar…
What began, however, as a pagan ordinance, ended as a Christian regulation; amongst a long series of imperial decrees, during the fourth, fifth, and sixth centuries.

About 40 yrs later, the Roman Church came up with this:

[color=660000]THE COUNCIL OF LAODICEA, canon 29, reads:
[b]CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day, rather honouring the Lord's Day; and, if they can, resting then as Christians. But if any shall be found to be judaizers, let them be anathema from Christ.[/b][/color]

The first section says: [b]“CHRISTIANS must not judaize by resting on the Sabbath, but must work on that day.[/b]

Thus man takes upon himself to [b]change 'the times and the law'[/b], in direct contradiction to the words of our Father:

Exd 20:8-10: "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the LORD your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates.

God tells us to rest on his sabbath. Man tells us to work.

and the judgment was...[b]..."let them be [i]anathema[/i] from Christ"...[/b] :-o

(Anathema: Gr.: a curse, suspension).

It is very clear when the 7th day Sabbath was changed *by Man to the Sunday, but I am trying to figure out when even Sunday sabbath keeping was done away with in most of the church, in exchange for a Spiritualisation of the 4th commandment. I think that is probably a more recent development... Will dig into it!

Stephen

*edit "by Man'

It has always been my understanding that the early Church, that preached to the Gentiles, met on Sunday, the first day of the week to worship. They met on that day because it was the Day that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead.

It was also the day that He led captivity captive [All those, that by faith believed in the "Seed of the Woman", "The Messiah", prophesized in Genesis 3:15 and throughout the Old Testament, that lived and died before the Christ's final sacrifice on the cross of Calvary] with Him when He went to heaven to place His blood on the Altar, in Heaven, to pay for all sin, from the beginning of time, to the end of time. Also, the very Sunday that Jesus Christ resurrected from the dead occured the same day that the Jews had been celebrating the feast of First Fruits since Moses delivered the Law (Lev. 23:9-14)---Christ is our First Fruits!

There are only two such references in the Bible about the early Church meeting on the First Day of the Week:

Acts 20
7. And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
8. And there were many lights in the upper chamber, where they were gathered together.
9. And there sat in a window a certain young man named Eutychus, being fallen into a deep sleep: and as Paul was long preaching, he sunk down with sleep, and fell down from the third loft, and was taken up dead.
10. And Paul went down, and fell on him, and embracing him said, Trouble not yourselves; for his life is in him.
11. When he therefore was come up again, and had broken bread, and eaten, and talked a long while, even till break of day, so he departed.
12. And they brought the young man alive, and were not a little comforted.

1 Cor 16:
1. Now concerning the collection for the saints, as I have given order to the churches of Galatia, even so do ye.
2. Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come. 3. And when I come, whomsoever ye shall approve by your letters, them will I send to bring your liberality unto Jerusalem.
4. And if it be meet that I go also, they shall go with me.

In conclusion, Ray Stedman had this to say about the Sabbath:

We must recognize that the weekly sabbath, i.e., Saturday, is not the real sabbath. It never was, and it is not now. It is a picture or a reminder of the real sabbath. The true sabbath is a rest; the Jewish sabbath is a shadow, a picture of that rest. All the Old Testament shadows pointed to Christ. They were predictions, foreviews, of the coming of the One who would fulfill all these remarkable things. Every lamb that was brought as an offering was a shadow of the work of Christ. Every burnt offering, every bit of incense that was offered, was a picture of the fragrance of Jesus Christ. The tabernacle was a shadow of him. The high priest, in his garments and his office, was a shadow of Christ as our High Priest. Read the book of Hebrews and you will see how beautifully all this is brought out. These Old Testament shadows were looking forward to the coming of the One who would fulfill these and thus end them. When the work of Jesus Christ was finished the shadows were no longer needed.

We behave very similarly today. Some twenty-two years ago when, as a much younger man, I was in Hawaii, I found myself engaged to a lovely girl who lived in Montana and whom I hadn't seen for three or four years. We were writing back and forth in those lonely days, and she sent me her picture. It was a beautiful picture and I showed it to all my friends dozens of times. I propped it up on the desk and I would look at it at least three or four times a day. It was all I had to remind me of her and it served moderately well for that purpose. But one wonderful day she arrived in Hawaii and I saw her face to face. I didn't spend much time with the picture after that, nor have I since. The other day I was cleaning out the garage and ran across the picture. It was still a beautiful picture, and I noted that she had not changed very remarkably since those days, but I found that the picture was quite incomplete and unsatisfying. When the real thing came there was no longer any need for the picture.

This is exactly what happened with these Old Testament shadows, including the Sabbath. When the Lord came, and his work was ended, making possible the true fulfillment of God's intention in the Sabbath, the picture was no longer needed. The weekly sabbath ended at the cross. Paul specifically says this. In the letter to the Colossians he confirms it to us. In Chapter 2, beginning with Verse 13, he says,

And you, who were dead in trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, having canceled the bond which stood against us with its legal demands; this he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the principalities and powers and made a public example of them, triumphing over them in it [not him; it, the cross].

Therefore, let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a sabbath. These are only a shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ. (Colossians 2:13-17)

Jesus Christ is the Lord of the Sabbath!

Walter

dear brother

You have said it right the sabbath was given to Israel.

Now, please explain to me how do you include yourself in the new covenant.

for this is what my bible says:

Exodus 31:16 6 'Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant.


I AGREE WITH YOU, BUT PLEASE EXPLAING THIS TO ME.

Jeremiah 31:31 " 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 --



Hebrews 8:8 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 --



Now, you claimed that because it was directly given to Israel it is something only for them, My problem with this statement is that the fact that so was the New Covenant.

Please explain to me how does your logic work for excluding yourself from the sabbath, which was given to israel, but you include yourself as partaker of the New covenant, please bear in mind the fact that

New covenant was also given to Israel and the House of Judah?

Could you show me the New covenant that was given to us, Gentiles?




God bless you.....

One more thing dear brother,

If you follow your argument, just a few books of the bible were actually written directly for the gentiles, Most of it were written to Israel about israel, by israelites, so I think it would be safe to say that 90% of it is a jewish thing, a rough guess.

Interesting......

If we are counting, 4/5 of the bible was written to the children of Israel and 1/5 written to the children of God. A created nation of God's own choosing and a birthed family of God's own Seed.

How did the Sabbath help Israel, a day? How does the Christian Sabbath help the body of Christ?

Israel is still an obstinate people and won't hear the Gospel that fulfills the Word of God given to Paul to give to us.

Christ is our Sabbath, not a day. Christ our Sabbath, our only rest. Not Sat or Sun "day", but a real Sabbath of Rest Given by God as we enter Christ which is that Rest. "Christ in you the Hope of Glory".

There is only one reason for this argument.
((((((((MAN)))))))))

If you keep the Sabbath as a Law, then keep the whole Law and live by it.

If Christ is the Sabbath then enter in and come to God's rest in Christ Jesus.

Psa 95:11 Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.

Hbr 3:11 So I sware in my wrath, They shall not enter into my rest.)

Hbr 4:3 For we which have believed do enter into rest, as he said, As I have sworn in my wrath, if they shall enter into my rest: although the works were finished from the foundation of the world.

Hbr 4:5 And in this [place] again, If they shall enter into my rest.

Ephesians 1:3-10 Blessed be the God and Father of our Lord Jesus Christ, who hath blessed us with all spiritual blessings in heavenly places in Christ: According as he hath chosen us in him before the foundation of the world, that we should be holy and without blame before him in love: Having predestinated us unto the adoption of children by Jesus Christ to himself, according to the good pleasure of his will, To the praise of the glory of his grace, wherein he hath made us accepted in the beloved. In whom we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of his grace; Wherein he hath abounded toward us in all wisdom and prudence; Having made known unto us the mystery of his will, according to his good pleasure which he hath purposed in himself: That in the dispensation of the fulness of times he might gather together in one all things in Christ, both which are in heaven, and which are on earth; even in him:

"IN HIM"?

Paul speaking and confirming Christ as our life and perfection and it is in Him that we "live and move and have our being", not a Sabbath day of rest but a true rest in Christ Jesus.

Has the seventh day Sabbath changed Israel?

Has our Sabbath, Christ in you the hope of Glory", changed the born again believer?

I know which one I will keep my rest in.

Hebrews 4:10-11 For He That entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his. Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief.

"Unbelief", even keeping the seventh day Sabbath, they could not enter His rest as He "swore in His wrath".

In Christ: Phillip

_________________
Phillip

whew! Phillip,that was hot..pure fire!
Best I've ever heard that said..I felt like I could hear you speaking the word right next to me.

Thank you God for clarity and Truth.
Thank you God for our rest! Jesus the Christ!

I could feel that word filling me up on the inside of my spirit..yea! Scuse my enthusiasm if it is out of place.

_________________
G.M. (Destiny) Sweet

The fact is, there is not one scripture that says or even alludes to Jesus "being our Sabbath" in the sense of totally replacing the 7th Day Sabbath.

There is not one scripture the says the sabbath has or will ever change from the 7thday to a person. Jesus himself never made this claim or anything similiar to it-

The Bible plainly says that JESUS is:

....the Son of God
....God manifested in the flesh
....Lord & Saviour
....Christ the Messiah
....the bread of life
....the bread of heaven
....the light of the world
....the Son of Man
....the first born of every creature
....Alpha & Omega
....The First and the Last

but I have never seen any verse that says that Jesus is the Sabbath in the sense of replacing the 7th Day or that He is our Sabbath now.

Now, to those who like to make that claim, my question is show me what specific verse or verses say, hint, or allude to the Sabbath Day being replaced by the person of JESUS Christ?

Yes, Jesus said come unto me and I will GIVE YOU REST, yet the Bible never speaks of that rest making the Sabbath Day null and void.

And if Jesus was speaking about himself in that manner, then why would apostle Paul say later:

2 Cor 2:13 I had [b]no rest in my spirit[/b], because I found not Titus my brother: but taking my leave of them, I went from thence into Macedonia.

There would have to be a scripture in the Word of God that says or reveals this directly-and what I am asking is for you who say that "Jesus is our Sabbath now" is to show me where the Bible says this?

I would also like for someone to explain what the sabbath means in this verse, which is evidently in the new earth:

Isaiah 66:22 [b]For as the new heavens and the new earth,[/b] which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. 23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from [b]ONE SABBATH TO ANOTHER, shall all flesh COME TO WORSHIP BEFORE ME, saith the LORD[/b]. 24 And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.