The Sabbath

                                                          The Sabbath

·         The Sabbath always pointed to Jesus as its fulfillment-Leviticus 25 Luke 4:16–21

·         The Sabbath was the sign of the Old Covenant, and since the Old Covenant is no longer in effect, believers are no longer under it. Also, Christians were not freed from Egypt. Therefore, the covenant sign of Israel does not apply to them.

·         In Colossians 2:16-17, Paul identifies the Sabbath as a shadow along with ordinances about foods, festivals, and the new moon. The Greek word for shadow is skia. Paul uses this word to describe the Sabbath in connection with the Old Testament sacrifices in Hebrews 10:1.

·         Hebrews 10:1 10 For since the law has but a shadow (skia) of the good things to come instead of the true form of these realities, it can never, by the same sacrifices that are continually offered every year, make perfect those who draw near.

·         Both passages view the ordinances of the law as a shadow with the substance being fulfilled in Christ. Since the Old Covenant sacrifices are done away, and to be consistent, the Old Covenant Sabbath should be done away with as well.

·         In Romans 14:5, Paul introduces two types of convictions that Christians share: “those who set aside the Sabbath as a special day” and the others “who consider every day the same.” Regardless of the conviction, respect should be given to each other. It is not a salvific reason. By reading the text carefully, we can see that Paul held the strong conviction-“everyday is the same” principle. If the “everyday is the same” principle was acceptable to Paul then it is logical that the Sabbath is no longer binding to the New Covenant believer. If this is incorrect, Paul has undermined God’s authority of the Sabbath by allowing others to leave it up to one’s personal beliefs. If the Sabbath was still enforced, Paul could never say this. Violating the Sabbath would have resulted in him receiving the death penalty. This is not the case because Paul is living under the New Covenant Age.

 

Does the Lord’s Day fulfills the Sabbath?

·         The Lord’s Day is mentioned in Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2, Revelation 1:10, and John 20:19. The practice is connected to the resurrection of Jesus.

·         Christians worshipped on the first day of every week.  It was practiced even in the 2nd century; the Sabbath and the Lord’s Day were considered two separate days. See the works of Ignatius.

·         There is no indication that the Lord’s Day functioned as a fulfillment of the Sabbath

·         There is no evidence of debates in Church history that focused on the Sabbath changing. However, there is strong support for debates that focused on the date of Easter.

·         Most of the early church fathers did not practice or defend a literal Sabbath observance (but interpreted it in an eschatological manner. In addition, they did not see the Lord’s Day as a replacement for the Sabbath. It was considered a unique day of worship. History views them as two separate days.

·         The Lord’s Day was not viewed as a day in which believers abstained from work. Instead, it was a day in which believers were required to work and worshipped the Lord.

·         The Lord’s Day replacing the Sabbath has been documented during the post-Constantinian era.

·         Although Luther acknowledged the principle of rest, he made no connection with it to Sunday.

·         The Puritans and Seventh-Day Adventists are known for a stricter interpretation of the Sabbath.

Is the Sabbath a Creation Ordinance?

·         Throughout the Old Testament we see that all of the covenants and administrations have had various signs. The Noahic covenant had the rainbow (Genesis 9:8-17) and the Abrahamic covenant had circumcision (Genesis 17).

·         The New Testament never grounds the Sabbath into creation like it does with marriage and gender roles. See Mark 10:2–12, 1 Tim. 2:12–13.

·         The word Sabbath is not even found in Genesis.

·         The Sabbath was God’s rest on the seventh day of creation. However, there is no commandment or law that demanded that each 7th day of the week being observed. Should we try to recreate the other 6 days in same fashion as well? Why limit it to just the 7th day because it is so-called creation ordinance?

·         Adam only received two commandments: Take care of the Garden of Eden and do not eat the Forbidden Fruit. There is nothing about keeping the Sabbath.

·         Adam, Noah, Abraham, Isaac, Jacob, and Joseph never received a commandment or punishment for Sabbath observance. All commandments are accompanied with punishments in the Old Covenant.

·         The Hebrews did not keep the Sabbath in Egypt. Pharaoh would have killed them because it would have hurt Egypt’s economy.

·         The Sabbath became a commandment in Exodus 16.

·         Nehemiah 9:13-14, Exodus 31:13–18, and Ezekiel 20:12 grounded the Sabbath during their time at Mt. Sinai, not in Creation.

·         Abraham following the ordinances in Genesis 26:5 doesn’t mean the Law or Sabbath. See Genesis 12:1-4, Genesis 28:1, Genesis 24:1-4, Genesis 18:19, Genesis 12:7; 22:9, Genesis 17:9-14.

·         Critics would argue that "Sabbaths" in Ezekiel 20:10-12 is plural. Therefore, it cannot refer to the weekly Sabbath. This is incorrect. The weekly Sabbath is plural in: Exodus 31:13-17. Both singular and plural usage can be found for the weekly Sabbath: Leviticus 19:3; 23:38; Isaiah 56:2,4; Matthew 12:5; 12:10; Acts 17:2.

·         The Law came after Abraham. See Galatians 3:17.

·         Exodus 16 acknowledges that the Manna and the Sabbath were new experiences for the Hebrews. They were not use to eating Manna and practicing the Sabbath before this.

·         Genesis mentioned marriage, offerings, altars, tithes, and circumcision, but no Sabbath.

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