The biblical Sabbath is like a spiritual bridge that spans the ages—the past to the present and then on into the future. The seventh day Sabbath not only connects man to all three, but carries man back to the Creator and forward with him into eternity, that is, into the eternal Sabbath of the New Heavens and New Earth in the New Jerusalem. The Sabbath is a major bridge linking man to his past, present and future.
When men cease to “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy/kadoash/set-apart [from secular activities]” (Exod 20:8) and substitute it for other days of worship (e.g. Sunday) or replace it with secular work and activities, humans, to one degree or another, cut themselves off from that spiritual bridge linking them to the eternity beyond both past and future in which Elohim inhabits.
Interestingly, the Sabbath was the first biblical truth that the post-apostolic apostate-bound Christian church fathers abandoned in the second century. At the same time, the Sabbath is the first thing to which modern mainstream Christian who are rediscovering their Hebraic roots will return.
As such, these modern day spiritual truth-seekers and pilgrims are unwittingly retracing their steps back to the future and back to the point where their second century antecedents jumped off the spiritual bridge that links them to eternity and beyond.
Yeshua the Messiah is the Creator of and LORD of the Sabbath and, when on earth as a human, he never sinned by violating a single Bible commandment including the command to keep the Sabbath holy.
Moreover, the Sabbath was a sign that the Word of Elohim (who later revealed himself in flesh form as Yeshua the Messiah) audibly gave to the children of Israel at Mount Sinai as a sign linking them to himself in a deep, mystical spiritual way.
The Sabbath as a commandment and a sign linking Elohim to his people has never gone away. Yeshua is the same yesterday, today and forever and does not change.
Those who love Yeshua the Messiah will be imitating him (1 Cor 11:1) and showing him their love by keeping his commandments (John 14:15). The Sabbath will link them to him in a deeper spiritual and mystical way that only those who “remember the Sabbath to keep it holy” can fully understand.
The sABBAth was made for man-not the Jew only but for all mankind-Hey kids, it’s Daddy day! Seems to me that since man was created on the 6th day and rested on the seventh, just like a newborn baby, resting in Daddy’s arms, Adam and Eve were resting in Elohim and being instructed by Him…we should do likeWISE!
Hebrews 4:9-11 talks about the “rest” to come in New Jerusalem!
Many years ago I was show that I was to be a bridge builder, and have been functiong in that gifting ever since. This was a very timely article
Yes! The Sabbath is Yahweh’s premier moedim, is it not? I would say it is more significant than any other moedim. It made it into His top 10. His top 10 commandments, I mean, of course.
We should take great care that it not become mundane. Though it occurs frequently, once a week, it should not become insignificant in our minds, nor in our choice of activities. The fact that it occurs so frequently, should indicate to us just how important it is and how much we need it, and not that it should become commonplace and meaningless, or like every other day, even if not working on that day.
The Sabbath was made for man, yes, but does that mean we are to be the Lord of it and do whatever we “enjoy”, such as non-employment work, carnal interests and pleasures, talk of worldly matters and concerns?
What do we think YHVH did on His first Shabbat? What did Yeshua do on his Shabbats? I think if we consider these questions we might get a somewhat better knowledge of the attitude and activities for our own Shabbats.
The Sabbath was made for man, true! But it is HIS Shabbat, right, and not man’s, and how we are to keep it is by remembering that He is the Lord of it, right, and not we ourselves? And we will also do well, I think, to remember that, like the Sabbath is to be a delight, so should all our obedience under his Lordship, even his Lordship of over us on the Sabbath. After all, who knows best how we are to live?
YES!
Jerry, thank you much for your insightful and exhortative comments that that you regularly post on my blog. What a blessings. Because of people like you, this blog is a great success and is growing in the numbers of lives that it’s touching for the kingdom.
Keep up the good work—all for the glory of YHVH Elohim!!!
True, the teaching the gospel from a pro-Torah perspective is a niche “market,” to be sure, but it is the paradigm of the future and will be the rule of Yeshua’s kingdom on earth in the hopefully near future, so people had better get with the flow.
Presently this blog is touching 500 to 1000 lives per day around the world. May voices like this one continue to grow and spread YHVH’s truth like the mustard seed in Yeshua’s parable.
You’re very welcome! Thank you for the encouraging comments and for your thoughts and the opportunity to comment, Natan.
When Rauch HaKodesh revealed that I must keep the Sabbath, I visited so many gatherings and couldn’t settle. Eventually I kept the Sabbath but stayed home and went to an assembly on Sunday.
This is because of legalism and a focus on the Sabbath as if it is the only commandment.
I recently started attending a Sabbath keeping assembly but the teaching is that Yeshua was and still is a man. The group is made up of family members who are open to revelation from Rauch HaKodesh. So I am praying for a revelation on the truth of Yeshua.
The Sabbath commandment separates “Loving Elohim with all your heart, soul and mind” from “Loving your neighbor as yourself”. So we can say it is at the point where the vertical commandments meet the horizontal commandments.
This indicates the meaning of it being made for us – we are the central point between YHWH and our neighbors.
Personally, I’d have a hard time fellowshipping with people who didn’t believe that Yeshua was Elohim, but was just a man. This is such a basic biblical truth——especially in the NT, and if they can’t figure this simple salvational truth out and accept what the Bible says, then they’re likely confused on a whole host of other basic salvational issues as well.