The Sabbath Day
Part 4
The Dake's Bible references that I have been addressing contain a fundamental presupposition that is at the root of every defense of the Sunday sabbath. In the heading, 'The Sabbath is not for the Gentile Church' the first line begins with "Not once in the scripture are the Gentiles and the N.T. church commanded to keep any particular day as a Sabbath..." It is statements like this that lie at the very heart of what the "legitimate" two house teaching is all about, and why it is imperative that it is taught. An improper understanding of who "Israel" and "The Church" are leads to a multitude of misleading doctrines. A perverted view of prophecy and of the term "Israel" and "children of Israel" is what forms the base of all replacement theology. Lets begin with a simple statement. Where in scripture is there such an entity as a N.T. church? Who and where is the O.T. church? The truth is that no such things exist. There is only the church (those who are called out). From the beginning, there has only been His called out, His people. It is man and man's religious doctrines that have conjured up a New Testament church.
Here is how the convenient systematic theologies of the Christian religion work. If there is a commandment or ordinance given to a select group of people in the scriptures, we simply define ourselves out of that group. This makes us free of responsibility to that ordinance. Here is an example:
Sh'mot 31:13
"Speak thou also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it is a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that ye may know that I am YHVH that doth sanctify you."
Here we have a simple request from the only God and Father that exists, of whom we are all born from. (I know, I ended with a preposition.) So what is the typical Christian response? We are not the children of Israel, we are the N.T. church. Now, at this point we could take a sharp left turn and spend several teachings verifiying from the scriptures that this statement is taught nowhere in the Bible. It is a remark made from the religious minds of man rather than the heart of God. But Rav Sha’ul already anticipated this kind of ignorance about who is Israel and the children thereof. Paul reveals the children of God and His seed from God's point of view rather than man's.
Romans 9:6-8
"Not as though the word of God hath taken none effect. For they are not all Israel, which are of Israel: 7 Neither, because they are the seed of Abraham, are they all children: but, In Isaac shall thy seed be called. 8 That is, They which are the children of the flesh, these are not the children of God: but the children of the promise are counted for the seed."
There is only one good seed from the very beginning. It is the seed (the Word of God - B'reshiyth 3:15, Luke 8:11) that reproduces GOD's children. From God's point of view, the children of the flesh (unbelieving Israel who literally come from the loins of Abraham) are not the children of God. They are not ISRAEL! Only in Isaac (faith) shall thy seed be called. The children of the promise are counted as the seed. The English word 'promise' is translated from the Hebrew word davar. This is the Hebrew word for 'the Word'. It is those who have received the WORD of God, that are the true children of God. Now, would Christian churchmen care to define themselves and all their followers out of that one too? The bottom line is this, when God is speaking to the 'faithful' children of Israel, He is speaking to us as well. There are not two different seeds. The same commandments given to Abraham are the same commandments given to us. The Sabbath is instituted in the beginning before any followers of God existed, because the command is FOR all the followers of God. In our Creator's eyes, you are either a faithful follower of the God of Israel or you are not. God does not have 'breeds' among His people. God's people are not like dogs. He does not tell the German Shepherds to stay here and the Golden Retrievers to go there. He does not take the pit bulls and separate them from the Boston Terriers.
ETERNAL SABBATH NOT FOR CHURCH
Ex. 31:17 Some argue that this is sufficient evidence that the Mosaic Sabbath was to be eternal and therefore observed by Christians under the N.T. program [good grief], but it must be kept in mind that similar eternal terms are used of sacrifices and many other things in the law of Moses. If we can prove that the Sabbaths of Israel, by being eternal, are for us today, we can likewise prove the offerings, sacrifices and various rituals are for us today also, for all are referred to with eternal terms in the law of Moses.
As I have alluded to previously, the introduction of non-biblical terms and expressions that become standard nomenclature is what irritates the most. Before addressing this statement, I would like to ask where we find the term or even the concept of a 'Mosaic Sabbath' in the scriptures. This is a critical part of the communication process, my friends. Beginning an arguement with non-existent terminology creates the paradigms that I believe God is tearing down in these last days. By using the term 'Mosaic Sabbath' the dispensationalists have already placed a negative, ancient, primitive, and obsolete connotation to the Sabbath. It is like using the word 'prehistorical' to describe history. As if to say, "Back in the fuzzy past when men drug their knuckles on the ground, grunted and foraged for food like three-toed sloths... " Let me just say that those who see the precious Word of God like this, will give an answer to God some day for every word that proceeds out of their mouths. What God has called a memorial, refreshing, holy, our rest, blessed, an eternal covenant, and given for us from the very beginning, the majority of Christianity has either changed to another day, slandered, rejected, ignored, fought against, or repudiated. (For those of you in Rio Linda, that means 'will not have anything to do with'.) Before moving on, I would like to add that I especially enjoyed the statement about the 'N.T. program'. Hear ye, Hear ye, get your program here.
Other than these two absurd statements, Mr. Dakes brings out a good question. This is the kind of question that should be asked. There are a handful of things that are associated with the idea of eternal and everlasting in the Tanakh. Some examples are the Sabbath (Sh'mot 31:16) the Aaronic priesthood (Sh'mot 29:9) the incense in the temple (Sh'mot 30:8) the waters of separation (B'midbar 19:21) the rainbow (B'reshiyth 9:16) the Abrahamic covenant (B'reshiyt 17:7) and, of course, God (B'reshiyth 21:33). The question is whether or not these things have ceased to exist. The same eternal words that are used of things related to the temple are also used of the Sabbath and of the existence of God. Can we just pick and choose which 'eternal' things are really eternal and which ones are not?
The book of Hebrews addresses this very question. This is one of the reasons why it is called the letter to the Hebrews. This book addressed three issues concerning what the Messiah had established on the tree. When man disobeyed the commandments of God, depending upon the transgression, he was to recompense man and God. In other words, when you sin there are ramifications. If you steal, you have a responsiblity to man AND a responsibility to God. If you steal a man's ox and kill it or sell it, you are to repay him with five oxen. But you have also offended and slapped the face of the God that created you. Your reconciliation to Him was found in the sacrifices, through the priesthood in the temple. There is reconciliation on earth and reconciliation in heaven. Reconciliation before God was accomplished with sacrifices, a priesthood and a temple. The book of Hebrews teaches us that Y'shua the Messiah was the fulfillment of prophecy concerning these three things. He IS the eternal sacrifice, He IS the eternal priesthood, and He IS the eternal temple. So God's words in the Tanakh concerning these things has not failed or ceased to exist. The key is the fact that God will pick and choose what the Messiah has done and what He has not. It is imperative to understand that Y'shua died for OUR SINS. This is a big clue taught in both testaments. It is the sacrifices, the priesthood and the temple that were the objects of atonement for sin. Keeping the Sabbath, observing the feasts and dietary laws, abstaining from murder, lying, adultery, stealing, honoring your father and mother, and a host of other teachings had nothing to do with atonement for sin. If the New Testament ever taught that Y'shua died to end the commandments of God, or to make His logical teaching obsolete, then I would not be writing this. As a matter of fact, I would be doing whatever I wanted to do, in the name of Jesus Christ, just like most of our dominant religion does.
The bottom line is that YHVH has revealed to us what has been absorbed in the Messiah because of His death and resurrection. We are not left to pick and choose what we are to obey and what we are to give back to the Jews. I have sat and listened to many a preacher, including myself years ago, teach the purpose and necessity of the ten commandments in our culture. Churchmen have been consistent in picking nine out of the ten. I have listened to many a sermon on the fact that societies cannot exist outside of the commandments of an Almighty God. Except for the dietary laws, the Sabbath, and the feasts, of course. That would also include all the commandments concerning Jewish rituals and ceremonies as well. What constitutes Jewish rituals and ceremonies is left up to the church to pick and choose. If you decide to pick and choose which things are eternal and which are not, you had better choose carefully. The Sabbath of the God of Israel is in the beginning, it is there at the time of Abraham, Moses, David, Isaiah and Ezekiel. It is there in the time of Y'shua, the book of Acts and prophetically in the parables. It is there at the return of Messiah and in His kingdom.
Shalom Alecheim!