�Colossians 2: 16-17 is significant because it lists several things of
the Law of Moses which are now seen as mere shadows: diet
restrictions, holy days, new moons, and the sabbath days. The
seventh day sabbath, which is Saturday, was, in part, to celebrate the
seventh day rest in the Lord. God created the world and man during
six days, and on the seventh day he rested. Hebrews 4: 3 says "For we
which have believed do enter into rest, as he said..."�.
The seventh day represents man in Christ. Man must stay in the
seventh day and not go on to the eighth, which is a mix of man obeying
God and man leaning to his own understanding.�
- WRONG! Why? Let�s think what was the purpose of the Sabbath? Why did the God of Israel command Jews to observe this day of the REST of God?!
Let�s read about that: �For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it HOLY.�
God wanted that the Jewish people would REST like He rests. But WHY? The answer is in the Scripture too:
Psalm 95
A Call to Worship and Obedience
95 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 �Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, �It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.�
11 So I swore in My wrath,
�They shall not enter My REST.��
That they should not enter into my rest. The "rest" here referred to was the land of Canaan/the Promised Land/Israel. They were not permitted to enter there as a place of "REST" after their long and weary wanderings, but died in the wilderness. But WHY? The meaning is that they did not come to the Promised Land which is a symbol of the Kingdom of God. Unbelief shut them out! And in Hebrews 3 we read a solemn warning to all NOT to be unbelieving and rebellious, since the consequence of unbelief and rebellion must be to exclude us from the Kingdom of Heaven, the true place of "Rest" where the God of Israel DWELLS! Thus the Sabbath represents the COMMAND of God to ENTER His dwelling place- the Kingdom of Heaven/the Promised Land. This command is HOLY! That is why Jews should think weekly during all days of their life about the PLACE of the REST where the God of Israel RESTS! Why? To ENTER the Place in FAITH and NOT grieving Him!
(2) You said:
�So, the spiritual
kingdom of God began very close to the time when physical Old
Covenant Israel headquartered in Jerusalem, with the temple worship
system, etc came to an end.�
-Do not forget a few chapters in the OT saying about the THIRD Temple of God. Re-read them.
(3) You said:
�God did not replace physical Israel with some different group called
the Capital C Church.�
- Right. God did not replace physical Israel with some different group because the God of Israel said that He will save Jews! He loves Jews with an everlasting Love! (Torah). But God said that all gentiles who believe in His Son are ONE and the Jewish ethnicity in this case does not matter. If we believe in His Son then we are Abraham�s seed i.e. heirs of Abraham and sons of God.
Sons and Heirs
26 For you are all sons of God through faith in Christ Jesus. 27 For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. 28 There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is neither male nor female; for you are all one in Christ Jesus. 29 And if you are Christ�s, then you are Abraham�s seed, and heirs according to the promise. Galatians 3
(3) You said:
�God the potter made one pot on his potter's wheel which was marred, or
flawed. So he took the same lump of clay and made it, Israel, into
another pot, which seemed good to the Lord the potter. He did not put
the old flawed pot on a shelf and then make a new pot to go alongside
of it as John Darby, C.I. Scofield, Lewis S. Chafer and so many others
following them have said.��
- WRONG! Lewis did NOT understand the story! Let�s read it together:
Jeremiah 18
The Potter and the Clay
18 The word which came to Jeremiah from the LORD, saying: 2 �Arise and go down to the potter�s house, and there I will cause you to hear My words.� 3 Then I went down to the potter�s house, and there he was, making something at the wheel. 4 And the vessel that he made of clay was marred in the hand of the potter; so he made it again into another vessel, as it seemed good to the potter to make.
5 Then the word of the LORD came to me, saying: 6 �O house of Israel, can I not do with you as this potter?� says the LORD. �Look, as the clay is in the potter�s hand, so are you in My hand, O house of Israel! 7 The instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to pluck up, to pull down, and to destroy it, 8 if that nation against whom I have spoken turns from its evil, I will relent of the disaster that I thought to bring upon it. 9 And the instant I speak concerning a nation and concerning a kingdom, to build and to plant it, 10 if it does evil in My sight so that it does not obey My voice, then I will relent concerning the good with which I said I would benefit it.
11 �Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, �Thus says the LORD: �Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.���
What do we read here?
God said that Jews/Israel are like the clay is in the potter�s hand. God can pluck up, pull down, and destroy any nation and any kingdom if it does evil in His sight and does NOT OBEY His voice. But is that nation/kingdom REPENTS and turns from its evil then God will relent of the disaster that He thought to bring upon it. Then in this case God will build and to plant it. This WARNING story God said through prophet Jeremiah to BRING Jews to REPENTANCE because God was planning to use a DISASTER against Jews if they will not turn to Him.
11 �Now therefore, speak to the men of Judah and to the inhabitants of Jerusalem, saying, �Thus says the LORD: �Behold, I am fashioning a disaster and devising a plan against you. Return now every one from his evil way, and make your ways and your doings good.���
I was a missionairy in Israel and it is quite comical how the Orthodox Jews try to keep the OT Sabbath laws. One OT law states that you should not light a fire during the Sabbath and anyone who lights a fire on the Sabbath shall be put to death as per Exodus 35:2,3. This would of course mean that any Eskimo who lights a fire to keep from freezing to death must be put to death.
Since car motors have pistons that continually light fires so the Orthodox Jews will not drive their cars on the Sabbath; but the 7th Day Adventists drive cars to their churches on the Sabbath so according to OT Sabbath laws all SDA members should be put to death. A Sabbath days walk is only about 2/3rd's of a mile so you must not walk or travel over 2/3rd's of a mile on the Sabbath.{Acts 1:12}
Now in Israel most utilities burn coal which of course lights a huge fire so the Orthodox Jews turn on their lights and heaters a few minutes before the Sabbath begins??? But of course all the Jews and SDA's who do this are increasing the amount of coal utilities burn thus increasing the fires set during the Sabbath.
The last time the NT saints kept the Sabbath was the day before The resurrection of Jesus as per Luke 23:55,56. The NT saints worshipped and witnessed every day and so every day was the Lord's Day especially TODAY.
Acts 2:44-46: All the believers were together and had everything in common. Selling their possessions and goods, they gave to anyone as he had need. ***EVERY DAY*** they continued to meet in the temple courts.
Hebrews 3:13: Encourage one another ***DAILY***, as long as it is called **TODAY**, so that none of you may be hardened by sin's deceitfulness.
Colossians 2:16,17: Therefore *DO NOT LET ANYONE JUDGE YOU* by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration **OR A SABBATH DAY**!! These are a **SHADOW** of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ!!!
SOME GREAT TIPS FOR ANTONE WHO WANTS TO KEEP THE OT SABBATH LAWS:
***If someone commits the unpardonable sin of driving their car to church on the Sabbath thus starting thousands of piston fires just drop a cyanide pill in their Communion cup!! Remember, to keep from sinning you can always go to church on a horse and buggy!!
***If someone puts their lights or electric heater on {To keep from freezing to death} during the sabbath thus starting Utility coal burning fires just burn their house down; but wait until a minute after the Sabbath to start the fire!!!
***It would be wise to move to an area where you will not freeze to death during the winter such as South Georgia which is the same Longitude as Israel!!!
*** If you do not want to obey the above tips you can always join another church which doesn't believe you have to obey OT Sabbath laws!!!
Galatians 2:14-16: Paul said, When I saw that they were not acting in line with the truth of the gospel, I said to Peter in front of them all, "You are a Jew, yet you live like a Gentile and not like a Jew. How is it, then that you force Gentiles to follow Jewish customs? We who are Jews by birth and not 'Gentile sinners' know that a man is NOT justified by observing the law, but by faith in Jesus Christ. So we, too, have put our faith in Christ Jesus that we may be justified by faith in Christ and not by observing the law, because by observing the law no one will be justified.!"
Galatians 2:20,21: The life I live in the body, I live by faith in the Son of God, who loved me and gave Himself for me. I do not set aside the the grace of God, for if righteousness could be gained through the law, Christ died for nothing!"
Galatians 3:10-13: "All who rely on observing the law are under a curse, for it is written "Cursed is everyonewho does not continue to do everything written in the Book of the Law." Clearly no one is justified before God by the law, because, "The righteous will live by faith." The law is not based on faith; on the contrary, "The man who does these things will live by them." Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us!
Galatians 3:23-25: "Before faith came, we were held prisoners by the law, locked up until faith should be revealed. So the law was put in charge to lead us to Christ that we might be justified by faith. Now that faith has come, *WE* ARE NO LONGER UNDER THE SUPERVISION OF THE LAW!!"
Hebrews 8:8,9,13: "The time is coming." says the Lord, "when I will make a New Covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah".... By calling this Covenant "NEW", He has made the first one OBSOLETE; and what is OBSOLETE and aging will soon disappear."
Hebrews 8:6: But the ministry Jesus has received is as superior to theirs as the covenant of which He is Mediator is SUPERIOR TO THE OLD ONE, and it is founded on better promises!
Colossians 2:16,17: Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you **EAT** or drink, or with regard to a religous festival, a New Moon celebration OR A **SABBATH DAY**. These are a *SHADOW* of the things that were to come, the reality, however, is found in Christ!!!
But you teach Richard to OBEY EVERYTHING what God says and we have to OBEY Him to REST during this day.
But WHY?
Exodus 20:8-11
�Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it HOLY. :angel: Six days you shall labor, and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God :bow:. On it you shall not do any work, you, or your son, or your daughter, your male servant, or your female servant, or your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested on the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and made it holy. :angel:
Ezekiel 20:12-24
Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the Lord who sanctifies :angel:them. But the house of Israel rebelled against me in the wilderness. They did not walk in my statutes but rejected my rules, by which, if a person does them, he shall live; and my Sabbaths they greatly profaned. �Then I said I would pour out my wrath upon them in the wilderness, to make a full end of them. But I acted for the sake of my name, that it should not be profaned in the sight of the nations, in whose sight I had brought them out. Moreover, I swore to them in the wilderness that I would not bring them into the land that I had given them, a land flowing with milk and honey, the most glorious of all lands, because they rejected my rules and did not walk in my statutes, and profaned my Sabbaths; for their heart went after their idols. ...
Deuteronomy 5:12-15
��Observe the Sabbath day, to keep it holy:angel:, as the Lord your God commanded you. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath to the Lord your God. On it you shall not do any work, you or your son or your daughter or your male servant or your female servant, or your ox or your donkey or any of your livestock, or the sojourner who is within your gates, that your male servant and your female servant may rest as well as you. You shall remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the Lord your God brought you out from there with a mighty hand and an outstretched arm. Therefore the Lord your God commanded :angel:you to keep the Sabbath day.
Exodus 31:14
You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy :angel:for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be CUT OFF from among his people.
Matthew 12:8
For the SON of GOD is lord of the Sabbath! :angel:
Our Savior Jesus used the Sabbath to read the Holy Scripture and to teach others (Luke 4:16,31).
Paul continued the practices with both Jews and Gentiles (Acts 13:14,27,42,44; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; 18:4).
In addition to this teaching, Psalm 92 shows that the Sabbath is a time to sing praises to our Creator.
If you turn away your foot from the Sabbath, From doing your pleasure on My holy day, And CALL THE SABBATH A DELIGHT:angel:, The holy day of the Lord honorable, And shall honor Him, not doing your own ways, Nor finding your own pleasure, Nor speaking your own words, Then you shall delight yourself in the Lord; And I will cause you to ride on the high hills of the earth, And feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father. The mouth of the Lord has spoken (Is 58:12-13).
15'For six days work may be done, but on the seventh day there is a sabbath of complete rest, holy to the LORD; whoever does any work on the sabbath day shall surely be put to DEATH. 16'So the sons of Israel shall observe the sabbath, to celebrate the sabbath throughout their generations as a PERPETUAL covenant.
Exodus 31:14-16
'Therefore you are to observe the sabbath, for it is holy to you. Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to death
I would observe this HOLY day instituted by God, knowing the purpose of this observance (read below), but I live in a Muslim country and they make me to work on Saturday. But I use this day too as always to tell people about the God of Israel and His Son! :dancingp:
�Colossians 2: 16-17 is significant because it lists several things of
the Law of Moses which are now seen as mere shadows: diet
restrictions, holy days, new moons, and the sabbath days. The
seventh day sabbath, which is Saturday, was, in part, to celebrate the
seventh day rest in the Lord. God created the world and man during
six days, and on the seventh day he rested. Hebrews 4: 3 says "For we
which have believed do enter into rest, as he said..."�.
The seventh day represents man in Christ. Man must stay in the
seventh day and not go on to the eighth, which is a mix of man obeying
God and man leaning to his own understanding.�
- WRONG! Why? Let�s think what was the purpose of the Sabbath? Why did the God of Israel command Jews to observe this day of the REST of God?!
Let�s read about that: �For in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, but he rested on the seventh day. Therefore the LORD blessed the Sabbath day and made it HOLY.�
God wanted that the Jewish people would REST like He rests. But WHY? The answer is in the Scripture too:
Psalm 95
A Call to Worship and Obedience
95 Oh come, let us sing to the LORD!
Let us shout joyfully to the Rock of our salvation.
2 Let us come before His presence with thanksgiving;
Let us shout joyfully to Him with psalms.
3 For the LORD is the great God,
And the great King above all gods.
4 In His hand are the deep places of the earth;
The heights of the hills are His also.
5 The sea is His, for He made it;
And His hands formed the dry land.
6 Oh come, let us worship and bow down;
Let us kneel before the LORD our Maker.
7 For He is our God,
And we are the people of His pasture,
And the sheep of His hand.
Today, if you will hear His voice:
8 �Do not harden your hearts, as in the rebellion,
As in the day of trial in the wilderness,
9 When your fathers tested Me;
They tried Me, though they saw My work.
10 For forty years I was grieved with that generation,
And said, �It is a people who go astray in their hearts,
And they do not know My ways.�
11 So I swore in My wrath,
�They shall not enter My REST.��
That they should not enter into my rest. The "rest" here referred to was the land of Canaan/the Promised Land/Israel. They were not permitted to enter there as a place of "REST" after their long and weary wanderings, but died in the wilderness. But WHY? The meaning is that they did not come to the Promised Land which is a symbol of the Kingdom of God. Unbelief shut them out! And in Hebrews 3 we read a solemn warning to all NOT to be unbelieving and rebellious, since the consequence of unbelief and rebellion must be to exclude us from the Kingdom of Heaven, the true place of "Rest" where the God of Israel DWELLS! Thus the Sabbath represents the COMMAND of God to ENTER His dwelling place- the Kingdom of Heaven/the Promised Land. This command is HOLY! That is why Jews should think weekly during all days of their life about the PLACE of the REST where the God of Israel RESTS! Why? To ENTER the Place in FAITH and NOT grieving Him!
