Hebrews 3-4: Not About Sabbath-Keeping

[Hidden In Him]

Greeting all.

I noticed there has been some talk lately about Sabbath-keeping, and while I don't oppose the practice, neither do I hold it as necessary in the life of the believer today as some do on this forum. But I've noticed some cite verses like Hebrews 4:4 as evidence that we God still requires us to keep the 7th Day observance, and I thought this errant interpretation of Hebrews Chapters 3 and 4 should be addressed and cleared up.

The following will be a fuller treatment of these two Chapters in particular, to demonstrate that the references to "the 7th Day" were actually talking about the millennium, when the kingdom of God will finally be established on the earth for a thousand years, and God will finally cease from His work of bringing forth a harvest in the earth. I hope all who take the time to read through this will come away with a better understanding of what the writer was teaching in context, even if at first they may not be in agreement with the interpretation I present.

God bless,
Hidden In Him

1 Therefore, holy brethren, partakers of the heavenly calling, consider the Apostle and High Priest of our confession, Christ Jesus, 2 who was faithful to Him who appointed Him, as Moses also was faithful in all His house. 3 For this One has been counted worthy of more glory than Moses, inasmuch as He who built the house has more honor than the house. 4 For every house is built by someone, but He who built all things is God. 5 And Moses indeed was faithful in all His house as a servant, for a testimony of those things which would be spoken afterward, 6 but Christ as a Son over His own house, whose house we are if we hold fast the confidence and the rejoicing of the hope firm to the end.

Jesus here, as our Spiritual High Priest, was being compared to the High Priest over Israel during their time in the wilderness, and this is the key to understanding the entire two Chapters. The writer runs a continuous parallel between the New Testament saints sojourning towards the promise land of Heaven (and eventually the establishment of the kingdom of God on earth during the millennium) and the Israelites sojourning through the wilderness to the promised land on earth.

This was a MAJOR prophetic parallel that was constantly being made reference to by the New Testament writers. For instance, Paul also compared the Corinthians to the Israelites journeying through the wilderness in 1st Corinthians 10, where he stated the following:

1 Moreover, brethren, I do not want you to be unaware that all our fathers were under the cloud, all passed through the sea, 2 all were baptized into Moses in the cloud and in the sea, 3 all ate the same spiritual food, 4 and all drank the same spiritual drink. For they drank of that spiritual Rock that followed them, and that Rock was Christ. 5 But with most of them God was not well pleased, for their bodies were scattered in the wilderness. 6 Now these things became our examples, to the intent that we should not lust after evil things as they also lusted. 7 And do not become idolaters as were some of them. As it is written, “The people sat down to eat and drink, and rose up to play.” 8 Nor let us commit sexual immorality, as some of them did, and in one day twenty-three thousand fell; 9 nor let us tempt Christ, as some of them also tempted, and were destroyed by serpents; 10 nor complain, as some of them also complained, and were destroyed by the destroyer. 11 Now all these things happened to them as examples, and they were written for our admonition, upon whom the ends of the ages have come. 12 Therefore let him who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall. 13 No temptation has overtaken you except such as is common to man; but God is faithful, who will not allow you to be tempted beyond what you are able, but with the temptation will also make the way of escape, that you may be able to bear it.

This is the same teaching the writer of Hebrews will give in Hebrews 3 and 4, only there he will focus more on the end result of the sojourn: Attaining to our spiritual promised land of Heaven. But the warnings were there again: The Israelites hardened their hearts against God because they did not trust Him in their circumstances, and the New Testament saints were having to face the same sorts of things; they were having to trust God during hardships, because the journey was being filled with persecution, opposition, afflictions and deprivations. And hardships in the wilderness are what caused some of the Israelites to turn against God in what was called "the provocation," when many claimed that they were better off in Egypt than to be suffering lack and wandering about in danger in the desert. This event is what the writer now refers to as we return to Hebrews 3:

7 Therefore, as the Holy Spirit says: “Today, if you will hear His voice, 8 Do not harden your hearts as in the provocation, in the day of trial in the wilderness, 9 where your fathers tested Me, tried Me, and saw My works forty years. 10 Therefore I was angry with that generation, and said, ‘They always go astray in their heart, and they have not known My ways.’ 11 So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest.’”

From this passage on, it is clear that the "rest" the writer was talking about was Entering the promised land, not Sabbath-keeping. God swore in His anger that the Israelites would not enter the promise land, and they did not. So, too, was the writer giving a warning that believers in the Lord Jesus Christ would likewise not enter the promised land of Heaven if they should harden their hearts in the midst of the trials they were suffering.

Returning again to the text, he will now address was initially caused their downfall: Not continuing to trust God in faith, which in turn led to departing from Him into sin:

12 Beware, brethren, lest there be in any of you an evil heart of unbelief in departing from the living God; 13 but exhort one another daily, while it is called “Today,” lest any of you be hardened through the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have become partakers of Christ if we hold the beginning of our confidence steadfast to the end, 15 while it is said: “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts as in the provocation.” 16 For who, having heard, rebelled? Indeed, not all who came out of Egypt led by Moses. 17 But with whom was He angry forty years? Was it not with those who sinned, whose corpses fell in the wilderness? 18 And to whom did He swear that they would not enter His rest, but to those who did not obey? 19 So we see that they could not enter in because of unbelief.

We see that they could not enter into what after forty years? Sabbath-keeping? No. They were keeping the Sabbath. The "rest" He was clearly talking about "entering into" here was the promised land, and by contrast, the promised land of Heaven (and by extension the millennial kingdom) was the "rest" Christians needed to be striving to enter into. But those in the wilderness stopped trusting Him in the hardships, and because they stopped trusting in Him, they soon began entering into sins of various kinds. So the teaching was not to "fall by the same example of unbelief," for New Testament believers were going through hardships as well, and if they began to doubt God, they too would eventually begin giving themselves to sin and rebellion, and eventually lose their salvation as a result.

Chapter 4 follows in the next post.

 

[Hidden In Him]

Chapter 4:

1 Therefore, a promise being left to enter into His rest, let us fear lest perhaps any of you might seem to have come short. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

The "rest" he is referring to here goes back to what he said in the previous Chapter, going back to verse 11, where he was clearly talking about entering into the promised land of Heaven (and the coming kingdom of God on earth), and not hardening one's heart as the Israelites did in the wilderness that might prevent them from doing so. This means that the "rest" referred to in this Chapter is not talking about sabbath-keeping, but the rest of God that is coming in the millennium.

3 For we become enterers into that rest who have believed, since He has said, “So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest,” and yet the works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place, “They shall not enter My rest.”

Here the writer is citing Old Testament verses to prove that the "rest" God was referring to in the Genesis account and later in Psalms 95 were both still future tense, as illustrated by how the Psalmist used the future tense in describing it. This is what he meant by "since He has said, 'So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest,' and yet the works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world." He was thus comparing the seven "days" of creation here to seven thousand years of human history that will be played out before the New Jerusalem descends to the earth, and the earth finally has "rest" from the work of God in seeking to bring about a harvest over the last six thousand years. This is why he ends with, "For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh [i.e. the seventh millennium] in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place, “They shall not enter My rest.” In other words, he's saying that God was prophetically foreshadowing in His word that the "day of His rest" was still future, and actually referred to the thousand year reign of Christ that still lay ahead of them, and still lay ahead of us.

That this was the teaching of the early church is confirmed by the Epistle of Barnabas, which dates to the decade just after Jerusalem's destruction. In it, we read the following:

Of the Sabbath [God] spoke in the beginning of the creation. And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day and rested on it, and He hallowed it. Give heed, children, to what this means. He ended in six days. He means this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end. For the day with Him signifies a thousand years, and this He himself bears me witness, saying, "Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years." Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And "He rested on the seventh day." He means this: When His Son shall come and abolish the time of the Lawless One, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day... Finally He says to [the Jews], "Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot endure." You see what is His meaning: "It is not your present Sabbaths that are acceptable, but the Sabbath which I have made, in the which, when I have set all things at rest, I will make a beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world." Wherefore we also keep the eighth day for rejoicing, in the which also Jesus rose from the dead. (Barnabas, Epistle of Barnabas 15:3-5, 8-9, late 70s A.D.)

Returning to Hebrews 4:

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not have afterward spoken of another day.

These verses in particular make it blatantly obvious that Sabbath observance is NOT being talked about, particularly the last verse, which states, "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not have afterward spoken of another day." If this is referring to sabbath-keeping it makes zero sense. The Jews were observing the sabbath during the time of Joshua - they observed it all through the wilderness journey, which is why they had to gather twice the manna on the sixth day so as to not do any work on the seventh - so he obviously was NOT referring to sabbath-keeping here but something else.

9 So there is bequeathed unto the people of God a sabbath rest. 10 For the one having entered into His rest has rested from his works also, just as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Verses 9-10 simply state that when God enters into His rest during the millennium, we will of necessity enter into ours with Him, and verses 11-13 are a return to the same message preached by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 above: Just as the sword of God was present in the desert to slay those Israelites who were disobedient to God and rebelled against Him in the desert, so too would New Testament saints if they reacted in the same way. So the writer was reminding them that nothing was hidden from God's sight, and they too would suffer judgment if they did as the Israelites did. If they gave themselves to sin and murmured in their hearts against God, they too might not make the true promised land of Heaven.

 

[JesusFan1]

Chapter 4:

1 Therefore, a promise being left to enter into His rest, let us fear lest perhaps any of you might seem to have come short. 2 For indeed the gospel was preached to us as well as to them, but the word which they heard did not profit them, not being mixed with faith in those who heard it.

The "rest" he is referring to here goes back to what he said in the previous Chapter, going back to verse 11, where he was clearly talking about entering into the promised land of Heaven (and the coming kingdom of God on earth), and not hardening one's heart as the Israelites did in the wilderness that might prevent them from doing so. This means that the "rest" referred to in this Chapter is not talking about sabbath-keeping, but the rest of God that is coming in the millennium.

3 For we become enterers into that rest who have believed, since He has said, “So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest,” and yet the works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world. 4 For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place, “They shall not enter My rest.”

Here the writer is citing Old Testament verses to prove that the "rest" God was referring to in the Genesis account and later in Psalms 95 were both still future tense, as illustrated by how the Psalmist used the future tense in describing it. This is what he meant by "since He has said, 'So I swore in My wrath they shall not enter My rest,' and yet the works have been accomplished from the foundation of the world." He was thus comparing the seven "days" of creation here to seven thousand years of human history that will be played out before the New Jerusalem descends to the earth, and the earth finally has "rest" from the work of God in seeking to bring about a harvest over the last six thousand years. This is why he ends with, "For He has said somewhere concerning the seventh [i.e. the seventh millennium] in this way: “And God rested on the seventh day from all His works”; 5 and again in this place, “They shall not enter My rest.” In other words, he's saying that God was prophetically foreshadowing in His word that the "day of His rest" was still future, and actually referred to the thousand year reign of Christ that still lay ahead of them, and still lay ahead of us.

That this was the teaching of the early church is confirmed by the Epistle of Barnabas, which dates to the decade just after Jerusalem's destruction. In it, we read the following:

Of the Sabbath [God] spoke in the beginning of the creation. And God made the works of His hands in six days, and He ended on the seventh day and rested on it, and He hallowed it. Give heed, children, to what this means. He ended in six days. He means this, that in six thousand years the Lord shall bring all things to an end. For the day with Him signifies a thousand years, and this He himself bears me witness, saying, "Behold, the day of the Lord shall be as a thousand years." Therefore, children, in six days, that is in six thousand years, everything shall come to an end. And "He rested on the seventh day." He means this: When His Son shall come and abolish the time of the Lawless One, and judge the ungodly, and change the sun and the moon and the stars, then shall He truly rest on the seventh day... Finally He says to [the Jews], "Your new moons and your Sabbaths I cannot endure." You see what is His meaning: "It is not your present Sabbaths that are acceptable, but the Sabbath which I have made, in the which, when I have set all things at rest, I will make a beginning of the eighth day which is the beginning of another world." Wherefore we also keep the eighth day for rejoicing, in the which also Jesus rose from the dead. (Barnabas, Epistle of Barnabas 15:3-5, 8-9, late 70s A.D.)

Returning to Hebrews 4:

6 Since therefore it remains for some to enter into it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter in because of disobedience, 7 again He designates a certain day, saying in David, “Today,” after such a long time, as it has been said, “Today, if you will hear His voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not have afterward spoken of another day.

These verses in particular make it blatantly obvious that Sabbath observance is NOT being talked about, particularly the last verse, which states, "For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not have afterward spoken of another day." If this is referring to the sabbath it makes zero sense. The Jews were observing the sabbath during the time of Joshua - they observed it all through the wilderness journey, which is why they had to gather twice the manna on the sixth day so as to not do any work on the seventh - so he most obviously was NOT referring to the sabbath here but something else.

9 So there is bequeathed unto the people of God a sabbath rest. 10 For the one having entered into His rest has rested from his works also, just as God did from His. 11 Let us therefore be diligent to enter into that rest, lest anyone fall according to the same example of disobedience. 12 For the word of God is living and powerful, and sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing even to the division of soul and spirit, and of joints and marrow, and is a discerner of the thoughts and intents of the heart. 13 And there is no creature hidden from His sight, but all things are naked and open to the eyes of Him to whom we must give account.

Verses 9-10 simply state that when God enters into His rest during the millennium, we will of necessity enter into ours with Him, and verses 11-13 are a return to the same message preached by Paul in 1 Corinthians 10 above: Just as the sword of God was present in the desert to slay those Israelites who were disobedient to God and rebelled against Him in the desert, so too would New Testament saints if they reacted in the same way. So the writer was reminding them that nothing was hidden from God's sight, and they too would suffer judgment if they did as the Israelites did. If they gave themselves to sin and murmured in their hearts against God, they too might not make the true promised land of Heaven.

NONE even observed the sabbath day until it was given by God to Moses , and it was a sign of the Old Covenant relationship established between Him and God!

There NEVER was given a command in the NT that the Church was to be p[laced back under the sabbath, as the Mosaic law was fulfilled in Christ, and now under the new and better Covenant

 

[Hidden In Him]

NONE even observed the sabbath day until it was given by God to Moses , and it was a sign of the Old Covenant relationship established between Him and God!

There NEVER was given a command in the NT that the Church was to be p[laced back under the sabbath, as the Mosaic law was fulfilled in Christ, and now under the new and better Covenant

Greetings JesusFan1, and thanks for responding.

There have been a number of debates lately related to this topic, and your above statements would/ will likely stir debate. My purpose in the thread is simply to illustrate that the proper interpretation of Hebrews 3-4 makes it obvious that sabbath-keeping is not the subject matter being addressed in those Chapters. I sometimes see it cited as such.

God bless,
Hidden In Him

 

[JesusFan1]

Greetings JesusFan1, and thanks for responding.

There have been a number of debates lately related to this topic, and your above statements would/ will likely stir debate. My purpose in the thread is simply to illustrate that the proper interpretation of Hebrews 3-4 makes it obvious that sabbath-keeping is not the subject matter being addressed in those Chapters. I sometimes see it cited as such.

God bless,
Hidden In Him

I have NO issue with any Christian convicted to observe the sabbath, but BIG issues when they decide that it s required for salvation and mut be observed by all!

 

[Hidden In Him]

I have NO issue with any Christian convicted to observe the sabbath, but BIG issues when they decide that it s required for salvation and mut be observed by all!

I do as well, as do several others on the forum.

Thanks for the posts, and God bless.

 

[Desire Of All Nations]

This entire argument is a poorly constructed house of theological cards that is clearly designed to confuse people into questioning the authority of what Paul taught concerning the Sabbath. The fact that Paul used the word "sabbatismos" in Heb. 4:9 shows Paul was describing the literal act of Sabbath-keeping as being a Christian obligation, and therefore supports the entire context of Paul likening the people who reject the Sabbath to the Israelites God condemned to die outside the Promised Land.

If anti-Sabbatarians can muster the effort to make excuses as to why they refuse to obey what is in the Bible and twist the Bible to support their lawless theology, they can summon the same amount of effort into begging God for help in obeying His commandments like i did.

NONE even observed the sabbath day until it was given by God to Moses , and it was a sign of the Old Covenant relationship established between Him and God!

Let's see what the Bible has to say about this:

"And on the seventh day God ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the seventh day from all His work which He had done. Then God blessed the seventh day and sanctified it, because in it He rested from all His work which God had created and made." - Gen. 2:2-3

According to the Bible, you couldn't be more wrong when you say the Sabbath didn't exist until the Old Covenant was ratified, because Gen. 2 clearly describes the Sabbath as being the last thing God created in the physical universe.

If you need any further proof, God specifically stated in the Sabbath command itself that it was the last thing He created:

"For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it." - Exo. 20:11

Even more proof of your error lies in Exo. 16 where God used the Sabbath to test Israel's willingness to follow laws that already existed and to teach them the weekly cycle:

"Then he said to them, 'This is what the LORD has said: ‘Tomorrow is a Sabbath rest, a holy Sabbath to the LORD. Bake what you will bake today, and boil what you will boil; and lay up for yourselves all that remains, to be kept until morning...’ ”“Six days you shall gather it, but on the seventh day, the Sabbath, there will be none.” - Exo. 16:23, 26

"And the LORD said to Moses, 'How long do you refuse to keep My commandments and My laws?'" - Exo. 16:28

As the entire narrative shows, all of this took place days before Israel ever received the codified version of God's commandments and other laws at Sinai in Exo. 20+. While "Christians" commonly claim that the commandments didn't exist until the Old Covenant was ratified at Sinai, the Bible itself shows that this belief is a wholesale lie that is based on nothing other than their hostility towards God's authority(Rom. 8:7).

Even if the Sabbath was created when the Old Covenant was established, there is still the matter that the Bible distinctly stated in Mar. 2:27, Isa. 56:6-7, and Exo. 20:10 that the Sabbath was not just for 1 group of people to keep and enjoy.

There NEVER was given a command in the NT that the Church was to be p[laced back under the sabbath, as the Mosaic law was fulfilled in Christ, and now under the new and better Covenant

Nobody had to be "placed back under the Sabbath", because Acts shows God's Church keeping it already:

“For Moses has had throughout many generations those who preach him in every city, being read in the synagogues every Sabbath.” - Acts 15:21

"Then Paul, as his custom was, went in to them, and for three Sabbaths reasoned with them from the Scriptures," - Acts 17:2

At no point in the NT does the Bible specifically state that the Sabbath was no longer binding. As you can see, two can play that game about what the NT doesn't show, but the difference is that the NT actually shows Christians keeping the Sabbath and the apostles reinforcing the authority of the Sabbath. What the NT clearly doesn't do is show the apostles telling someone that the Sabbath was no longer binding.

The idea that Jesus "fulfilled" the Sabbath is not based on the Bible at all, especially because the Bible that anti-Sabbatarians supposedly believe in states in Isa. 66:23 that the whole world will be keeping the Sabbath when the Jesus returns.

If Jesus already "fulfilled" the Sabbath as anti-Sabbatarians falsely claim, there would be no need for the rest of the world to keep it in the future. Better yet, Luk. 23:56 wouldn't clearly show Jesus' female followers keeping the Sabbath "according to the commandment" just a couple of days after Jesus died. That extremely important fact debunks every false theology that was ever crafted about Jesus "fulfilling" the Sabbath.

The NT was instituted the moment Jesus died(Heb. 9:16-17), and as i have already shown, His female followers observed the Sabbath after His death. There was absolutely no confusion among them as to whether or not Jesus' death abolished the Sabbath since Jesus clearly told them in Matt. 5:17 that no one was to even think that He came to abolish any part of the Law's authority. You are speaking from a place of presumption and foolishness when you claim with such confidence that the NT doesn't reinforce the Sabbath command. The NT reinforces every last law and moral principle God gave in the OT.

 

[Hidden In Him]

The fact that Paul used the word "sabbatismos" in Heb. 4:9 shows Paul was describing the literal act of Sabbath-keeping

I was expecting this, and the answer is that the millennium will indeed be an observance of the sabbath rest that Paul was talking about in these two Chapters.

Go through the entire two Chapters for me and break down your interpretation of every verse. We will examine every phrase in every verse minutely together.

God bless,
- H

 

[amigo de christo]

Come ye unto Christ JESUS all who do labor and are weary and YE shall find REST for your souls .
Let all that draws breath praise the glorious Lord .
Redeemed to GOD by the blood of Christ . THE LORD is our salvation . Be hearers and doers of all He did teach .
Loving and embracing all things He and later the apostles would teach . Feast on those bibles daily and let the LORD be praised .

 

[amigo de christo]

Paul was talking about Christ . Yes indeed . Enter ye into faith in Christ .
Its all about having faith in JESUS CHRIST . And a true lamb loves all things HE did teach .
Let the wonderous LORD be praised . Yes indeed , i say , let all that draws breath praise the LORD .

 

[GEN2REV]

Here is the simplest way to clear up this entire topic:

If A, Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews, (Check)

and B, Paul was known to be a Sabbath Keeper, Acts 13:14-16; Acts 13:42; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4; Acts 21:24; (Check)

then C, Paul was NOT saying anything about NOT keeping the Sabbath in the letter to the Hebrews. (Check)

Problem solved.

God bless.

 

[GEN2REV]

NONE even observed the sabbath day until it was given by God to Moses , and it was a sign of the Old Covenant relationship established between Him and God!

Where are you from? Are you part of an organized church? Your doctrine is identical to what churches are teaching everywhere today and nowhere in the neighborhood of accurate scripture.

Here's your NONE that observed the Sabbath Day until it was given in Exodus chapter 20. It was discussed and given FOUR CHAPTERS prior to the Israelites even ARRIVING at Mt. Sinai. OOPS! Somebody taught you wrong.
Exodus 16:4-5
God TESTS the Israelites in the wilderness whether they would follow HIS LAW or not. What Law? Clearly the 10 Commandments; showcasing the 4th - the Sabbath Commandment. Strongly implying the Commandments had been given much earlier than that time even.

There NEVER was given a command in the NT that the Church was to be placed back under the sabbath, as the Mosaic law was fulfilled in Christ, and now under the new and better Covenant

There never was such a command given because there never was a command given to ever STOP ANY of the 10 Commandments.

 

[Paul Christensen]

I was expecting this, and the answer is that the millennium will indeed be an observance of the sabbath rest that Paul was talking about in these two Chapters.

Go through the entire two Chapters for me and break down your interpretation of every verse. We will examine every phrase in every verse minutely together.

God bless,
- H

It is an historical fact that Roman law was an integral part of the founding of the Roman republic and superseded all previous laws in the provinces that were annexed by Rome. The only province that was permitted to have Saturday as the day off work was Judea, because Roman Law respected the religious culture of the provinces. All the other provinces had their day off work on Sunday, when the pagan Gentiles worshiped their sun god and other gods in their respective temples. This meant that Gentiles who were converted to Christ outside of Judea had their fellowship meetings on Sunday. According to Roman Law, only the Jews were permitted to have their Saturday worship in the provinces. Early in the 1st Century after the day of Pentecost when most believers were Jewish, they worshiped in the Temple and the synagogues around the province.

Because of the persecution that resulted in the death of James and the near-death of Peter, the Jewish Christians spread out from Jerusalem into the surrounding provinces. Most continued worship in the synagogues until they either died of old age, or were ejected by the orthodox Jews. The Gentile believers brought to Christ through the ministry of Paul's ministry team worshiped on the Sunday day off. They never worshiped on Saturday. By the 2nd Century, most Christian believers worshiped on Sunday and those still with a Jewish background could not worship on Saturday because the synagogues were closed to them.

When Constantine came to power, what he did was to make Christianity the official religion of Rome, and closed the pagan temples. Some of these temples were repurposed to become Christian places of worship. The notion that Constantine changed Saturday worship to Sunday is an invention which originated with the Millerite adventist group of the 1830s-40s, and advocated by Ellen White in her writings. But the historical fact is that Gentile Christians never worshiped on Saturday, because it was a work day, and the only day they had off work was Sunday. The fact that our weekends are Saturday and Sunday is to accommodate both the orthodox Jews and the Christians.

Some quote Josephus who spoke of "our law" involving Saturday worship. But he was a Jew, and therefore was speaking of Jewish law, not Roman law.

So, in summary, throughout the Roman Empire, it was impossible for Christian believers to have their worship on Saturday, because it was a work day, the work week being Monday to Saturday, with Sunday being the day off when the pagans had their temple worship. So, the only day of the week when Christians were able to gather together for worship was Sunday. That is historical fact that cannot be glossed over or ignored,

 

[Hidden In Him]

Here is the simplest way to clear up this entire topic:

If A, Paul wrote the letter to the Hebrews, (Check)

and B, Paul was known to be a Sabbath Keeper, Acts 13:14-16; Acts 13:42; Acts 17:2; Acts 18:4; Acts 21:24; (Check)

then C, Paul was NOT saying anything about NOT keeping the Sabbath in the letter to the Hebrews. (Check)

Good afternoon, GEN2REV.

This answer kinda doesn't make any argument. You see, my OP isn't making the assertion that they weren't keeping the sabbath during the NT era. In fact, the quote from the Epistle of Barnabas admits that they were, when he said, "Wherefore we also keep the eighth day for rejoicing, in the which also Jesus rose from the dead." It means they were keeping both the 7th Day and the 1st Day (i.e. the "8th Day") early on. This is confirmed by other early sources as well:

Let us therefore no longer keep the Sabbath after the Jewish manner and rejoice in days of idleness... But let every one of you keep the Sabbath after a spiritual manner, rejoicing in meditation on the law not in relaxation of the body... nor in eating things prepared the day before, nor using lukewarm drinks, nor walking within a prescribed space... And after the observance of the Sabbath, let every friend of Christ also keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days. (Ignatius of Antioch, Epistle to the Magnesians, Chapter 9, 110 A.D.)

The question posed in the OP was, do Hebrews Chapters 3 and 4 deal specifically with the subject of sabbath observance or do they refer to something else, based on the context.

So if you will, go through the entire two Chapters for me and give me your exegesis of the entire passage so we can go through things piece by piece. That's what I am after from those who would respond to the contrary.

God bless, and thanks for the response.
- H

 

[Hidden In Him]

It is an historical fact that Roman law was an integral part of the founding of the Roman republic and superseded all previous laws in the provinces that were annexed by Rome. The only province that was permitted to have Saturday as the day off work was Judea, because Roman Law respected the religious culture of the provinces. All the other provinces had their day off work on Sunday, when the pagan Gentiles worshiped their sun god and other gods in their respective temples. This meant that Gentiles who were converted to Christ outside of Judea had their fellowship meetings on Sunday. According to Roman Law, only the Jews were permitted to have their Saturday worship in the provinces. Early in the 1st Century after the day of Pentecost when most believers were Jewish, they worshiped in the Temple and the synagogues around the province.

Because of the persecution that resulted in the death of James and the near-death of Peter, the Jewish Christians spread out from Jerusalem into the surrounding provinces. Most continued worship in the synagogues until they either died of old age, or were ejected by the orthodox Jews. The Gentile believers brought to Christ through the ministry of Paul's ministry team worshiped on the Sunday day off. They never worshiped on Saturday. By the 2nd Century, most Christian believers worshiped on Sunday and those still with a Jewish background could not worship on Saturday because the synagogues were closed to them.

When Constantine came to power, what he did was to make Christianity the official religion of Rome, and closed the pagan temples. Some of these temples were repurposed to become Christian places of worship. The notion that Constantine changed Saturday worship to Sunday is an invention which originated with the Millerite adventist group of the 1830s-40s, and advocated by Ellen White in her writings. But the historical fact is that Gentile Christians never worshiped on Saturday, because it was a work day, and the only day they had off work was Sunday. The fact that our weekends are Saturday and Sunday is to accommodate both the orthodox Jews and the Christians.

Some quote Josephus who spoke of "our law" involving Saturday worship. But he was a Jew, and therefore was speaking of Jewish law, not Roman law.

So, in summary, throughout the Roman Empire, it was impossible for Christian believers to have their worship on Saturday, because it was a work day, the work week being Monday to Saturday, with Sunday being the day off when the pagans had their temple worship. So, the only day of the week when Christians were able to gather together for worship was Sunday. That is historical fact that cannot be glossed over or ignored,

Hi Stranger! Hope you are blessed, and doing well.

Yes, and this is still a problem for the sabbath-keeping argument today. As I posted elsewhere, what many from the sabbath-keeping camp don't seem to realize is that the Jews were keeping the sabbath according to a lunar calendar, which means the sabbath would have fallen on our calendar today on a different day every month. According to the Lunar calendar, the sabbath falls on Mondays this month, will fall of Tuesdays in February, and then on Thursdays in March. This presents tremendous problems to the typical wage earner in secular society in our times. Unless they all work for themselves and can take off whenever they want to, being able to take a different day off every month could threaten their job security, and this is simply not something I see the Lord requiring of believers. It places too heavy a burden upon them, and could lead to many not being able to keep a job or despair for salvation if it were still a commandment that under no circumstances could be dismissed.

Now I disagree with your contention that the 7th Day was never kept by the Gentiles, but as per my quotes in the previous post, I think the trouble associated with the Pagan calendar and work week is why they observed both, but neither as any requirement to salvation. They simply observed the 7th Day and then the 1st Day (8th Day) as times for gathering together, based on their knowledge of what these two days meant to Christian eschatology, and the Christian worldview.

God bless, and thanks for sharing your insight.
- H

 

[Christ4Me]

I noticed there has been some talk lately about Sabbath-keeping, and while I don't oppose the practice, neither do I hold it as necessary in the life of the believer today as some do on this forum. But I've noticed some cite verses like Hebrews 4:4 as evidence that we God still requires us to keep the 7th Day observance, and I thought this errant interpretation of Hebrews Chapters 3 and 4 should be addressed and cleared up.

The reference for how God rested on the sabbath in Hebrews 4:4 in the completion of His act in creation is to show why we can rest in Jesus Christ that we are saved in His completion of having saved us by believing in Him so there is nothing else to do to obtain salvation like the Jews are doing for keeping the sabbath, but to go on to perfection by looking to Jesus Christ to help us lay aside every weight & sin daily in walking in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son.

So those who keep the sabbath day for salvation like the Jews were doing, are not recognizing what Jesus Christ has done for having saved us for believing in Him for why we are to cease from our works in obtaining salvation by our merits & will power les we come short of the rest in Jesus.

 

[Hidden In Him]

The reference for how God rested on the sabbath in Hebrews 4:4 in the completion of His act in creation is to show why we can rest in Jesus Christ that we are saved in His completion of having saved us by believing in Him so there is nothing else to do to obtain salvation like the Jews are doing for keeping the sabbath, but to go on to perfection by looking to Jesus Christ to help us lay aside every weight & sin daily in walking in the light in fellowship with the Father & the Son.

So those who keep the sabbath day for salvation like the Jews were doing, are not recognizing what Jesus Christ has done for having saved us for believing in Him for why we are to cease from our works in obtaining salvation by our merits & will power les we come short of the rest in Jesus

Hello, C4M.

This is the same interpretation that Amigo De Cristo holds to, only I don't really agree with that interpretation either. But if you could, go through the entire two Chapters with me and explain things in light of your interpretation. I'd be glad to discuss it with you.

God bless,
- H

 

[GEN2REV]

This answer kinda doesn't make any argument.

It is absolutely in opposition to what you are claiming in the OP.

The question posed in the OP was, do Hebrews Chapters 3 and 4 deal specifically with the subject of sabbath observance or do they refer to something else, based on the context.

Wrong. You're claiming that it IS dealing with the Sabbath, but that the definition of the Sabbath it is dealing with, is not the 7th Day Sabbath rest instituted at Creation Week. My post very succinctly proved that to be false. For Paul was a keeper of the 7th Day Sabbath day of rest, the Holy Sabbath that is a single day each week. NOT some millennium period of time.

So if you will, go through the entire two Chapters for me and give me your exegesis of the entire passage so we can go through things piece by piece. That's what I am after from those who would respond to the contrary.

Lol.

Yeah no. I won't do that.

It is entirely unnecessary. The opposing evidence to your theory has been presented. The ball is in your court to either prove that Paul was NOT a Sabbath-keeper, thus opening the door to the possibility of what you are proposing he is discussing in Hebrews, OR embracing the FACT that he WAS a Sabbath-keeper and concluding that your theory holds no water.

So if you will, go through the entire Bible and look for evidence that Paul would teach/discuss such a contradictory concept to what he believed and practiced.

God bless.

 

[Hidden In Him]

My post very succinctly proved that to be false... Lol. Yeah no. I won't do that.

Well "LoL" yourself, LoL.

Your "succinct proof" hasn't proved anything to anyone yet. :) Me thinks you are incapable of sound exegesis of the two Chapters, so you are evading. :)

 

[GEN2REV]

Well "LoL" yourself, LoL.

Your "succinct proof" haven't proved anything to anyone yet. :) Me thinks you are incapable of sound exegesis of the two Chapters, so you are evading. :)

OH ... ok.