Importance of the Sabbath: Rest, Worship, and Spiritual Observance.

[Hobie]

Here is an interesting perspective on the Sabbath... 'People of faith regard the Sabbath not just as a day of rest, but also of worship; for so it was designed by Almighty God. But people, being perverse and wayward, has ever sought, and indeed have succeeded, in violating the principle of the Sabbath...

Employers used to work their laborer's from daylight until sunset in ancient times, and allow no breaks except when dark set in; and then laborer's could recuperate until the next day. To ensure that laborer's worked all hours possible, employers plunged the world into ugly times; the world experiencing slavery, colonialism, serfdom, debt bondage, forced marriages, child soldiers and similar abuses; all with the objective of merciless human exploitation....

God told Israel, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) This was not just a Jewish thing, confined to Jews, it was to be so for strangers in Israel as well: “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” (Exodus 20:10)...

When God created the world He did not give names to the days, He gave each day a number. The world was created in 6 days and God rested on the 7th day (Genesis 1:31-2:2). This seven-day period is called a week which means simply a space of seven days.'

 

[Hobie]

It gets the Sabbath correct but then wanders on into the problems and excuses created by another day...

'No one has ever been able to establish if what we call the first day is actually what God called the first day.

There is probably a big difference between what is accepted, and what is real, for a number of reasons:

1. No one has been able to trace the days back to the beginning of creation
2. During the dispensations of innocence and human government Sabbaths were not observed, and no documentary evidence exist that they were even known.
3. Some old civilizations worked to an 8-day week
4. There have been numerous changes in the week cycles, and days have been added, and subtracted, to calendars over time
5. Many countries in the world accept Monday as the 1st day of the week and reflect that on their calendars; whilst others accept Sunday.

It cannot be known, with certainty, that the day on which you worship, whatever you choose to call it, corresponds to the day you think it is as originally numbered by God.'.

So what is the true importance of the Sabbath...

 

[Hobie]

The importance of the Sabbath is a day made by God for man at Creations to cease from work to 'Shabat' or to rest and this gives man the time to commune with God, through worship, spiritual observance, etc.. and develop a one on one personal relationship with Him.

Gods ordained day of rest has existed since Creation where it was made for man as Christ proclaimed, “And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:" (Mark 2:27). This took place in the beginning of Genesis where after six days of Creation, God rested: “Then God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it he rested from all the work of creating that he had done” (Genesis 2:3).

This period of time on the seventh day is first thing that is sanctified in the Bible, and in declaring the seventh day holy, God made this time sacred. This is why later in the two tables of stone given to Moses, the Fourth Commandment says to "remember" the day of the Sabbath and to "keep" it holy, as it was something that was already made and was already holy.

 

[mailmandan]

People of faith understand that our "sabbatismos" rest is found in Christ in contrast with keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law.

Hebrews 4:9 - So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (NASB) Notice that the Greek word "sabbatismos" here is used nowhere else in the Bible.

W. E. Vine, Greek Dictionary points out:

Sabbath rest (4520) (sabbatismos from sabbatízo = keep the Sabbath) literally means a keeping of a sabbath or a keeping of days of rest. It is used in this passage not in the literal sense (meaning to keep a specific day, the "Sabbath" day) but to describe a period of rest for God’s people which is modeled after and is a fulfillment of the traditional Sabbath.

SABBATISMOS a Sabbath-keeping, is used in Heb. 4:9, R.V., "a Sabbath rest," A.V. marg., "a keeping of a Sabbath" (akin to sabbatizoµ, to keep the Sabbath, used, e.g., in Ex. 16:30, not in the N.T.); here the Sabbath-keeping is the perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son, in contrast to the weekly Sabbath under the Law.

Because this Sabbath rest is the rest of God Himself, its full fruition is yet future, though believers now enter into it. In whatever way they enter into divine “rest,” that which they enjoy is involved in an indissoluble relation with God. (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

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Colossians 2:16 - Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

 

[Johann]

People of faith understand that our "sabbatismos" rest is found in Christ in contrast with keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law.

Hebrews 4:9 - So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (NASB) Notice that the Greek word "sabbatismos" here is used nowhere else in the Bible.

W. E. Vine, Greek Dictionary points out:

Sabbath rest (4520) (sabbatismos from sabbatízo = keep the Sabbath) literally means a keeping of a sabbath or a keeping of days of rest. It is used in this passage not in the literal sense (meaning to keep a specific day, the "Sabbath" day) but to describe a period of rest for God’s people which is modeled after and is a fulfillment of the traditional Sabbath.

SABBATISMOS a Sabbath-keeping, is used in Heb. 4:9, R.V., "a Sabbath rest," A.V. marg., "a keeping of a Sabbath" (akin to sabbatizoµ, to keep the Sabbath, used, e.g., in Ex. 16:30, not in the N.T.); here the Sabbath-keeping is the perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son, in contrast to the weekly Sabbath under the Law.

Because this Sabbath rest is the rest of God Himself, its full fruition is yet future, though believers now enter into it. In whatever way they enter into divine “rest,” that which they enjoy is involved in an indissoluble relation with God. (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

SermonIndex.net Audio Sermons - Sermon Index

Colossians 2:16 - Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

 

[Hobie]

People of faith understand that our "sabbatismos" rest is found in Christ in contrast with keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law.

Hebrews 4:9 - So there remains a Sabbath rest for the people of God. (NASB) Notice that the Greek word "sabbatismos" here is used nowhere else in the Bible.

W. E. Vine, Greek Dictionary points out:

Sabbath rest (4520) (sabbatismos from sabbatízo = keep the Sabbath) literally means a keeping of a sabbath or a keeping of days of rest. It is used in this passage not in the literal sense (meaning to keep a specific day, the "Sabbath" day) but to describe a period of rest for God’s people which is modeled after and is a fulfillment of the traditional Sabbath.

SABBATISMOS a Sabbath-keeping, is used in Heb. 4:9, R.V., "a Sabbath rest," A.V. marg., "a keeping of a Sabbath" (akin to sabbatizoµ, to keep the Sabbath, used, e.g., in Ex. 16:30, not in the N.T.); here the Sabbath-keeping is the perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son, in contrast to the weekly Sabbath under the Law.

Because this Sabbath rest is the rest of God Himself, its full fruition is yet future, though believers now enter into it. In whatever way they enter into divine “rest,” that which they enjoy is involved in an indissoluble relation with God. (Vine's Expository Dictionary of New Testament Words)

SermonIndex.net Audio Sermons - Sermon Index

Colossians 2:16 - Therefore no one is to act as your judge in regard to food or drink or in respect to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath day— things which are a mere shadow of what is to come; but the substance belongs to Christ.

And yet the Commandments still stand, and the Sabbath day is there for those who love and follow God, and in testament against those who turn away from it. If you look, you will see, apoleipetai means literally 'left behind' and sabbatismos in Greek literature always, 100% of the time, refers to seventh day sabbath-keeping.
GRT Hebrews 4:9 ara apoleipetai sabbatismos tô laô tou theou

Thayer's Lexicon #4520
1) a keeping [continuing/enduring] Sabbath

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament; Arndt and Gingrich
sabbatismoV, pronounced sabbatismos, form: noun
1) Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance

Strong's Lexicon #4520 σαββατισμός
1) a keeping [continuing] sabbath
2) the blessed rest from toils and troubles looked for in the age to come by the true worshippers of God and true Christians

As stated above, the Bible only has one instance of the word sabbatismos, what this further means is that, unlike most other words in the scriptures, one cannot do a verse-to-verse comparison in order to arrive at its definition. One MUST, in this particular situation, look to other Greek documents that use this word. This is the only way to get an accurate definition.

Sabbatismos means 'seventh-day Sabbath keeping'. The verb form of the word is sabbatizw sabbatizo, which means 'to keep the Sabbath' (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). The Greek English Lexicon of the Septuagint defines sabbatizw sabbatizo as 'to keep sabbath, to rest' (Lust, Eynikel, Hauspie).

Scripture points out that God established the Sabbath at Creation, Jesus observed it, the disciples observed it, all the prophets kept it, and according to Isa 66:22-23 we will be observing it in the new earth. Now, logic dictates that we should be observing it now.
Let's see those verses in Isaiah:
Isa. 66:22-23 - For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

 

[Behold]

And yet the Commandments still stand, and the Sabbath day is there for those who love and follow God, and in testament against those who turn away from it.

The religious worry about days and they worry about sin and law and commandments.

The Born again, who are 'Not under the Law""..... find eternal peace with God through Christ, and eternal rest in God's Grace.

 

[David in NJ]

Here is an interesting perspective on the Sabbath... 'People of faith regard the Sabbath not just as a day of rest, but also of worship; for so it was designed by Almighty God. But people, being perverse and wayward, has ever sought, and indeed have succeeded, in violating the principle of the Sabbath...

Employers used to work their laborer's from daylight until sunset in ancient times, and allow no breaks except when dark set in; and then laborer's could recuperate until the next day. To ensure that laborer's worked all hours possible, employers plunged the world into ugly times; the world experiencing slavery, colonialism, serfdom, debt bondage, forced marriages, child soldiers and similar abuses; all with the objective of merciless human exploitation....

God told Israel, “Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.” (Exodus 20:8) This was not just a Jewish thing, confined to Jews, it was to be so for strangers in Israel as well: “But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates.” (Exodus 20:10)...

When God created the world He did not give names to the days, He gave each day a number. The world was created in 6 days and God rested on the 7th day (Genesis 1:31-2:2). This seven-day period is called a week which means simply a space of seven days.'

God says: "Anyone who works on the sabbath are to be put to death" - Exodus 31:15

"Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."

Have you worked on the sabbath?

 

[amigo de christo]

God says: "Anyone who works on the sabbath are to be put to death" - Exodus 31:15

"Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."

Have you worked on the sabbath?

Do you realize there is a second death and that any who works on the true sabbath and enters not into his rest
GONNA FACE that second death .
If a man could be put to death by the law for working on the sabbath
HOW MUCH WORSE a punishment awaits those WHO TROD THE SABBATH OF GOD , THE REST OF GOD
JESUS THE CHRIST under foot and tried to work his own way to GOD . I see things more clearly all the time friend .
Even the sabbath POINTED TO THE TRUE SABBATH REST GIVEN UNTO THOSE WHOSE FAITH WOULD BE
IN JESUS THE CHRIST who once cried unto men
COME YE unto ME all ye who do labor and are weary and ye shall find rest for your souls
ONLY MOST REJECT that REST and do all to work their own way to GOD . WONT END WELL for them either .

 

[IronMaiden]

Jesus is our Rest, our Sabbath.

Psalm 37:7-8 NKJV

7 Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him;
Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way,
Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
8 Cease from anger, and forsake wrath;
Do not fret—it only causes harm.

 

[Marvelloustime]

Do you realize there is a second death and that any who works on the true sabbath and enters not into his rest
GONNA FACE that second death .
If a man could be put to death by the law for working on the sabbath
HOW MUCH WORSE a punishment awaits those WHO TROD THE SABBATH OF GOD , THE REST OF GOD
JESUS THE CHRIST under foot and tried to work his own way to GOD . I see things more clearly all the time friend .
Even the sabbath POINTED TO THE TRUE SABBATH REST GIVEN UNTO THOSE WHOSE FAITH WOULD BE
IN JESUS THE CHRIST who once cried unto men
COME YE unto ME all ye who do labor and are weary and ye shall find rest for your souls
ONLY MOST REJECT that REST and do all to work their own way to GOD . WONT END WELL for them either .

@amigo de christo

 

[Hobie]

The religious worry about days and they worry about sin and law and commandments.

The Born again, who are 'Not under the Law""..... find eternal peace with God through Christ, and eternal rest in God's Grace.

The Sabbath was made at Creation for man, and Jesus Himself was its Creator, and it was there before He wrote it on the tablets of stone..

Exodus 16:29
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

 

[Marvelloustime]

Brother @amigo de christo is spotted.

 

[mailmandan]

The Sabbath was made at Creation for man, and Jesus Himself was its Creator, and it was there before He wrote it on the tablets of stone..

Exodus 16:29
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future sabbath law, there is no Biblical record of the sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. *Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that sabbath keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.*

The word "sabbath" first appears in Exodus 16:23 - 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.

This was addressed to the Israelites. Moses gives the reason the sabbath was given to the nation of Israel: “REMEMBER that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought YOU out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded YOU to observe the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)

Sabbath observance was a sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.” (Exodus 31:16-17)

 

[mailmandan]

And yet the Commandments still stand, and the Sabbath day is there for those who love and follow God, and in testament against those who turn away from it. If you look, you will see, apoleipetai means literally 'left behind' and sabbatismos in Greek literature always, 100% of the time, refers to seventh day sabbath-keeping.
GRT Hebrews 4:9 ara apoleipetai sabbatismos tô laô tou theou

Thayer's Lexicon #4520
1) a keeping [continuing/enduring] Sabbath

A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament; Arndt and Gingrich
sabbatismoV, pronounced sabbatismos, form: noun
1) Sabbath rest, Sabbath observance

Strong's Lexicon #4520 σαββατισμός
1) a keeping [continuing] sabbath
2) the blessed rest from toils and troubles looked for in the age to come by the true worshippers of God and true Christians

As stated above, the Bible only has one instance of the word sabbatismos, what this further means is that, unlike most other words in the scriptures, one cannot do a verse-to-verse comparison in order to arrive at its definition. One MUST, in this particular situation, look to other Greek documents that use this word. This is the only way to get an accurate definition.

Sabbatismos means 'seventh-day Sabbath keeping'. The verb form of the word is sabbatizw sabbatizo, which means 'to keep the Sabbath' (Arndt and Gingrich, A Greek-English Lexicon of the New Testament). The Greek English Lexicon of the Septuagint defines sabbatizw sabbatizo as 'to keep sabbath, to rest' (Lust, Eynikel, Hauspie).

Scripture points out that God established the Sabbath at Creation, Jesus observed it, the disciples observed it, all the prophets kept it, and according to Isa 66:22-23 we will be observing it in the new earth. Now, logic dictates that we should be observing it now.
Let's see those verses in Isaiah:
Isa. 66:22-23 - For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.

What I explained in post #4 still stands. As for the 10 commandments under the old covenant of law: 2 Corinthians 3:6 - who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

In regard to Isaiah 66:22-23, this simply teaches that from month to month and from week to week, God’s people will worship Him. In the new heaven and the new earth, we read there will have no need of the sun or moon, there will be no night there, but one perpetual day and the glory of God will illuminate it. (Revelation 21:23-25).

How then could there be a cycle of seven days that would allow for literally keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law? The Isaiah passage simply means that God’s people will perpetually worship Him in contrast to keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law.

Furthermore, if one insists on weekly sabbath observances based on Isaiah 66:23, then one also needs to observe new moons as well. Yet from what I hear, Sabbatarians don’t observe new moons, which is inconsistent. New moons require night, hence there is no night in heaven, so there is no day and night cycles in heaven. You cannot have "new moon to new moon" or "sabbath days" without day and night, so your argument is mute.

Will there be Levitical priests in the new heaven? If Isaiah 66:23 teaches that we will keep the weekly sabbath day under the law in the new heaven, then it also teaches in Isaiah 66:21 that the Levitical priests will be in the new heaven, because it's also mentioned. What happened to the Levitical priesthood under the new covenant terms? Priesthood changed so did the law. Hebrews 7:12 - For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. The old and new covenants do not mix.

Sabbath keeping with all it's rules and regulations, was part of a covenant with Israel (Exodus 16:23, 29; 31:12-18; 35:1-3; Leviticus 19:30; 23:2-3, 32; Numbers 15:32-36; 28:1-10; 29:39-40; I Chronicles. 23:30-31; II Chronicles 31:2-4; Isaiah 1:13; Amos 8:5; Nehemiah 10:31) that is not binding on Christians under the new covenant. (Colossians 2:16-17)

 

[Hobie]

Although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future sabbath law, there is no Biblical record of the sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. *Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that sabbath keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.*

The word "sabbath" first appears in Exodus 16:23 - 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.

This was addressed to the Israelites. Moses gives the reason the sabbath was given to the nation of Israel: “REMEMBER that you were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought YOU out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded YOU to observe the Sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)

Sabbath observance was a sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the Sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.” (Exodus 31:16-17)

Need to read your Bible and understand, when Christ made the Sabbath the day of rest, He rested on it and made it for man, there were no Jews. He ceased His work to spend time with man as a example for us on what He made for us.

Mark 2:27
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

And the Sabbath was blessed and made holy..

Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

So Moses was just explaining to the Children of Israel what had been from Creation...
Exodus 16:23
And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbathunto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Exodus 16:25
And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

Exodus 16:26
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

Exodus 16:29
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

The purpose of the Sabbath was to bring man to God with this memorial of Creation of the day made for man, where he can cease from work and come together and commune with God. Thus you see the meaning of what Christ said..

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
John 17:17-23

 

[Hobie]

What I explained in post #4 still stands. As for the 10 commandments under the old covenant of law: 2 Corinthians 3:6 - who also made us sufficient as ministers of the new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit; for the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life. 7 But if the ministry of death, written and engraved on stones, was glorious, so that the children of Israel could not look steadily at the face of Moses because of the glory of his countenance, which glory was passing away, 8 how will the ministry of the Spirit not be more glorious? 9 For if the ministry of condemnation had glory, the ministry of righteousness exceeds much more in glory.

In regard to Isaiah 66:22-23, this simply teaches that from month to month and from week to week, God’s people will worship Him. In the new heaven and the new earth, we read there will have no need of the sun or moon, there will be no night there, but one perpetual day and the glory of God will illuminate it. (Revelation 21:23-25).

How then could there be a cycle of seven days that would allow for literally keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law? The Isaiah passage simply means that God’s people will perpetually worship Him in contrast to keeping the weekly sabbath day under the law.

Furthermore, if one insists on weekly sabbath observances based on Isaiah 66:23, then one also needs to observe new moons as well. Yet from what I hear, Sabbatarians don’t observe new moons, which is inconsistent. New moons require night, hence there is no night in heaven, so there is no day and night cycles in heaven. You cannot have "new moon to new moon" or "sabbath days" without day and night, so your argument is mute.

Will there be Levitical priests in the new heaven? If Isaiah 66:23 teaches that we will keep the weekly sabbath day under the law in the new heaven, then it also teaches in Isaiah 66:21 that the Levitical priests will be in the new heaven, because it's also mentioned. What happened to the Levitical priesthood under the new covenant terms? Priesthood changed so did the law. Hebrews 7:12 - For when the priesthood is changed, the law must be changed also. The old and new covenants do not mix.

Sabbath keeping with all it's rules and regulations, was part of a covenant with Israel (Exodus 16:23, 29; 31:12-18; 35:1-3; Leviticus 19:30; 23:2-3, 32; Numbers 15:32-36; 28:1-10; 29:39-40; I Chronicles. 23:30-31; II Chronicles 31:2-4; Isaiah 1:13; Amos 8:5; Nehemiah 10:31) that is not binding on Christians under the new covenant. (Colossians 2:16-17)

Read your Bible...

Isaiah 66:22-23
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, 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 one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

 

[mailmandan]

Read your Bible...

Isaiah 66:22-23
22 For as the new heavens and the new earth, 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 one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the Lord.

I have read my Bible and I read this passage of scripture above in context and I prefer my exegesis over your eisegesis.

 

[mailmandan]

God says: "Anyone who works on the sabbath are to be put to death" - Exodus 31:15

"Work shall be done for six days, but the seventh is the Sabbath of rest, holy to the LORD. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death."

Have you worked on the sabbath?

Whenever certain folks today set out to keep the sabbath day, are they truly "keeping the sabbath?" To "keep the sabbath" as it was required under the old covenant of law involved compliance with specific regulations (Exodus 16:23; 35:3; Leviticus 23:32; Jeremiah 17:21) that were strictly enforced.

If sabbath day observances are still required today, then so would the burnt offerings which went along with them (Leviticus 19:30; 23:2-3; Numbers 28:1-10; 29:39-40; I Chronicles. 23:30-31; II Chronicles 31:2-4; Isaiah 1:13). So, no kindling a fire in any of your dwellings on the sabbath. (Exodus 35:3) Every man must remain in his place on the sabbath. (Exodus 16:29) No trading. (Amos 8:5) No marketing. (Nehemiah 10:31; 13:15,19) *These regulations were commanded by God to Israel. (Exodus 35:1-3)

If keeping the sabbath day is still in effect today, then why don't these folks (particularly SDA's) seek to obey ALL that the Lord has commanded? How can someone keep a certain law when they only keep part of it? If the sabbath day laws were still in effect today, then according to Exodus 31:12-18; 35:1-3; and Numbers 15:32-36, anyone who profaned the sabbath was put to death and any person who does any work on it, that person shall be cut off from his people.

Now who is going to enforce that? The Jewish synagogue? The Seventh day Adventist church or perhaps the government? Since we do not live under a theocratic state as ancient Israel did under the old covenant of law, no sabbatarian today can live consistently under these Mosaic regulations.

 

[mailmandan]

Need to read your Bible and understand, when Christ made the Sabbath the day of rest, He rested on it and made it for man, there were no Jews. He ceased His work to spend time with man as a example for us on what He made for us.

Mark 2:27
And he said unto them, The sabbath was made for man, and not man for the sabbath:

And the Sabbath was blessed and made holy..

Genesis 2:1-3
1 Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them.
2 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made.
3 And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.

So Moses was just explaining to the Children of Israel what had been from Creation...
Exodus 16:23
And he said unto them, This is that which the Lord hath said, To morrow is the rest of the holy sabbathunto the Lord: bake that which ye will bake to day, and seethe that ye will seethe; and that which remaineth over lay up for you to be kept until the morning.

Exodus 16:25
And Moses said, Eat that to day; for to day is a sabbath unto the Lord: to day ye shall not find it in the field.

Exodus 16:26
Six days ye shall gather it; but on the seventh day, which is the sabbath, in it there shall be none.

Exodus 16:29
See, for that the Lord hath given you the sabbath, therefore he giveth you on the sixth day the bread of two days; abide ye every man in his place, let no man go out of his place on the seventh day.

The purpose of the Sabbath was to bring man to God with this memorial of Creation of the day made for man, where he can cease from work and come together and commune with God. Thus you see the meaning of what Christ said..

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
John 17:17-23

Again, although God's rest on the seventh day (Genesis 2:3) did foreshadow a future sabbath law, there is no Biblical record of the sabbath before the children of Israel left the land of Egypt. *Nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that sabbath keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses.

Now if every man from Adam to Moses kept the sabbath, why is the Hebrew word for the weekly sabbath not found in the book of Genesis? Why is no one before Moses ever commanded to keep the sabbath? Why are there no examples of anyone keeping the sabbath before Moses? Why were the Patriarchs never instructed about the sabbath but were instructed regarding: Offerings: Genesis 4:3-4, Altars: Genesis 8:20, Priests: Genesis 14:18, Tithes: Genesis 14:20, Circumcision: Genesis 17:10, Marriage: Genesis 2:24 and Genesis 34:9. Why would God leave out the sabbath command in Genesis if it was for everyone to keep before Moses?

In regard to Mark 2:27, "the sabbath was made for man, not man for the sabbath." This statement by Jesus was in response to the accusation by the Pharisees that His disciples were breaking the law regarding resting on the sabbath while going through some fields and plucking heads of grain (Mark 2:23-28). Jesus responded by giving an example from the Old Testament that David was once in need of food and was given consecrated bread that was only lawful for the priests to eat (1 Samuel 21:1-61). The bread had served a practical need for David and his followers, just as it did with Jesus and His disciples.

David and his men were not acting sinfully in eating the showbread, and neither were Jesus’ disciples acting sinfully in plucking heads of grain on the sabbath. Jesus' response to the accusing Pharisees concludes that the sabbath was intended to help people, not burden them. In contrast with the grueling daily work as slaves in Egypt, the Israelites were commanded to take a day of rest each week under the Mosaic law. The Pharisees had turned the sabbath into a burden, adding restrictions beyond what God’s law said. The disciples had not broken God’s law; they had only violated the Pharisees’ legalistic, interpretation of the law. Jesus reminded the Pharisees of the original intent of the sabbath.

The sabbath was not given to all the nations. It was given to the nation of Israel. Look at Deuteronomy 5:1-15, which gives the commandments to Israel. 2 The Lord our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. 3 The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, those who are here today, all of us who are alive.

Nehemiah 9:13 - "Then You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven; You gave them just ordinances and true laws, Good statutes and commandments. 14 So You made known to them Your holy sabbath, and laid down for them commandments, statutes and law, Through Your servant Moses." *Again, nowhere in Scripture is there any hint that sabbath keeping was practiced from Adam to Moses. Period.

Exodus 16 is addressed to the children of Israel.

The purpose of the Sabbath was to bring man to God with this memorial of Creation of the day made for man, where he can cease from work and come together and commune with God. Thus you see the meaning of what Christ said..

17 Sanctify them through thy truth: thy word is truth.
18 As thou hast sent me into the world, even so have I also sent them into the world.
19 And for their sakes I sanctify myself, that they also might be sanctified through the truth.
20 Neither pray I for these alone, but for them also which shall believe on me through their word;
21 That they all may be one; as thou, Father, art in me, and I in thee, that they also may be one in us: that the world may believe that thou hast sent me.
22 And the glory which thou gavest me I have given them; that they may be one, even as we are one:
23 I in them, and thou in me, that they may be made perfect in one; and that the world may know that thou hast sent me, and hast loved them, as thou hast loved me.
John 17:17-23

Exodus 20:2 - I am the Lord your God, who brought YOU out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of bondage -- The Israelites.

Moses gives the reason the sabbath was given to the nation of Israel: “REMEMBER that YOU were slaves in Egypt and that the Lord your God brought YOU out of there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore, the Lord your God has commanded YOU to observe the sabbath day.” (Deuteronomy 5:15)

Sabbath observance was a sign between God and Israel: “The Israelites are to observe the sabbath, celebrating it for the generations to come as a lasting covenant. It will be a sign between me and the Israelites forever, for in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day he abstained from work and rested.” (Exodus 31:16-17)