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Colossians 2:18 Says the Sabbath is a SHADOW!
This is part 5 of the series of studies on Dd-33. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH BINDING?
The Seventh Day Adventist Church, which I will abbreviate as the SDA Church and the SDA Christians throughout the remainder of this study, argues that the keeping of the weekly Sabbath DAY is binding on Christians.
And one of their arguments is their “INTERPRETATION” of Colossians 2:14-17 where they CLAIM that the word “Sabbath” in verse 16 cannot possibly be the weekly Sabbath because, to THEM, the weekly Sabbath is not a SHADOW.
So, part 5 of this series of Bible studies on the subject of the weekly Sabbath DAY will focus on the question “Is the weekly Sabbath DAY a SHADOW that points to Jesus”.
I have the links to all my studies on the weekly Sabbath DAY under the heading **Dd-0. WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?**
And you can always find parts 1-4 by clicking on that link if you have not read them as yet if you forget the title of this study. Here are the links to part 1-4 of this six part study on the keeping of the Sabbath DAY of rest binding on Christians.
Please read the studies called part 1 of Dd-33. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH DAY BINDING?
To read Part 2 click on Dd-34. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH BINDING? Part 2.
And to read part 3 please click on the study Dd-35. HOW CAN THE WEEKLY SABBATH BE AGAINST US?
And Part 4 is called Dd-36. WERE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS GIVEN TO ADAM?
Plus, you can also find the links to all the Bibles studies that I have written on the subject of the weekly Sabbath DAY under the heading **Dd-0. WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?**
But for now, let us begin this study in God’s word by reading the SDA Church argument claiming that the weekly Sabbath DAY is not a SHADOW and, THEREFORE, to THEM, the word “Sabbath” in Colossian 2:16 can not possibly be referring to the weekly Sabbath.
The comments between the paragraphs of this SDA article are mine. I may also have a few comments in parentheses within some of their paragraphs as well. And the emphasis is also mine.
The emphasis highlighted in yellow is to draw your attention to what is true in the Scriptures.
And the emphasis highlighted in green is what is NOT true and contradicts the Scriptures.
There is always a little truth in every false teaching.
WHAT LAW WAS BLOTTED OUT?
WHAT LAW WAS BLOTTED OUT?
But let’s look closer at that text in Colossians 2:14-16 to get the real picture. After describing the “blotting out” and “nailing” of the ordinances, Paul wrote, “Let no man THEREFORE judge you in meat, or in drink.”
The word “therefore” means “based on what has just been said, we must come to this conclusion.” In other words, he was saying, “Based upon the fact that the ordinances have been blotted out, THEREFORE let no one judge you in meat or drink.”
Now we begin to see clearly which law was under discussion. Is there anything in the Ten Commandments about meat and drink?
But let us read the rest of the text before us: “Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days: Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ” (Colossians 2:16, 17).
Question: Could these sabbath days be talking about the Seventh-day Sabbath of the ten-commandment law? No. Because they are clearly defined as “shadows of things to come.” Please keep in mind that the weekly Sabbath was instituted by God before sin came into the world.
THERE COULD NEVER BE TYPES or SHADOWS BEFORE SIN EXISTED! All the shadows were introduced because of sin and pointed forward to the deliverance from sin through Christ. For example, all the lambs slain represented Jesus, the true LAMB, who would die for the sins of the world. If sin had not entered the world, there would have been no need of a Saviour, and therefore, no lambs or shadows pointing to a Saviour.
So then, the whole SDA Christian argument as to why the word “Sabbath” in Colossians 2:16 cannot possibly be the weekly Sabbath DAY is that the weekly Sabbath DAY is NOT a SHADOW, according to THEIR “interpretation” of the Scriptures.
Let me say that again, THEY CLAIM that the weekly Sabbath is not a shadow to them, according to their “interpretation” of the Scriptures.
Watch closely so you can see WHY all seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians NEED the FOURTH commandment to have been given to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
What God instituted was His PROPHECY of the TRUE seventh day of Yahweh’s rest during the 1000 year long Day of the Lord, the Millennial reign of Jesus.
The SDA Church argument is that there were no shadows BEFORE sin existed and that all shadows were introduced because of sin.
Now, to me, the only part of their argument that is Scriptural is that all the shadows of the ceremonial commandments point to Jesus.
In other words, their ONLY reason for the weekly Sabbath DAY as not being a SHADOW is based SOLELY on THEIR “interpretation” of the Scriptures that God gave the FOURTH commandment to Adam in the Garden of Eden.
But what does the Bible ITSELF teach us as to WHEN the fourth commandment was given?
You see, Exodus 34:28, Deuteronomy 4:13, and Deuteronomy 10:4 clearly teach us in SIMPLICITY that the TEN Commandments were given to the children of Israel at Mount Horeb that is also called Mount Sinai.
And that was AFTER God delivered the children of Israel out of bondage in the land of Egypt, according to Exodus 31:16-18.
Exodus 31:16-18.
“Wherefore, the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the sabbath throughout their generations, for a perpetual covenant.
Exodus 31:17. It is a SIGN between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.
Exodus 31:18. And He GAVE unto Moses, WHEN He had made an end of communing with Him upon mount Sinai, two tables of testimony, tables of stone, written with the finger of God.”
God first BEGAN to TEACH the children of Israel HOW to rest on the seventh day in Exodus chapter 16 to SEE if they would obey all His commandments.
To learn the TRUTH that the children of Israel never rested on the seventh day of the week until AFTER God delivered them out of bondage in the land of Egypt please read the study Dd-7. WHAT DOES EXODUS 16:28-30 TRULY MEAN?
But for now, let us continue reading the SDA Church argument to try and prove that the weekly Sabbath DAY is not a SHADOW.
So these “sabbath days which are a shadow” could not possibly be referring to the Seventh-day Sabbath. But what other sabbaths could they be talking about? Were there “sabbaths” other than the weekly Sabbaths? Yes, there were yearly sabbaths which had absolutely nothing to do with the Seventh-day Sabbath of the decalogue. And they were definitely a part of the “ordinance” system which ended at the cross.
For proof of this, let us go back to the law of Moses and read about these annual feast days which were shadowy sabbaths. “Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation” (Leviticus 23:24). Again we read, “Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement ... It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest” (verses 27, 32).
As you can clearly see, these annual sabbaths fell on a different day of the week every year, and God specifically explained that they were not to be confused with the weekly Sabbath. “These are the feasts of the Lord, which ye shall proclaim to be holy convocations, to offer an offering made by fire unto the Lord, a burnt offering, and a meat offering, a sacrifice, and drink offerings, everything upon his day: BESIDE THE SABBATHS OF THE LORD” (verses 37, 38).
Now we can understand what Paul was referring to in Colossians when he wrote about meat and drink and sabbath days which are shadows. There were certain prescribed offerings for each of those yearly feast days, and they were shadows pointing to the future sacrifice of Jesus. But the Bible says these were “BESIDE THE SABBATHS of THE LORD,” or the Seventh-day Sabbath.
Let us pause here for a moment so I can point out some things to you.
First of all, Leviticus 23:38 BESIDE THE SABBATHS of THE LORD is being taken OUT of its CONTEXT to make it sound as if the weekly Sabbaths are different and nothing like the SHADOWY Sabbaths of the feast days.
But, in TRUTH, the word “BESIDE” in Leviticus 23:38 means in addition to the yearly feast days.
Let us read the whole verse and you will see what I mean.
Leviticus 23:38.
“Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, AND BESIDE your gifts, AND BESIDE all your vows, AND BESIDE all your freewill offerings, which you give unto the LORD.”
The SDA Church is deceiving the SDA Christians by taking verses of Scripture out of their context and twisting their true meaning to make it fit their theology that Christians must keep the weekly Sabbath DAY in order to please God.
I also highlighted the word days in green. The word “days” in Colossian 2:16 is NOT in the original Greek text.
A good King James translation will have the word “days” in italics to let the reader know that it is not in the original Greek text.
So, Colossians 2:16,17 should read as follows.
Colossians 2:16,17.
“Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the Sabbath:
Colossians 2:17. Which ARE a SHADOW of things to come; but the body is of Christ.”
Now, there is only ONE weekly Sabbath, but there are SEVEN feast DAYS and they are also called Holy days.
The Greek word translated as Holy Days ALSO means FEAST day.
Therefore, the Sabbath is without a doubt to WEEKLY Sabbath and NOT the seven annual feast day Sabbaths.
For you see, Paul would not list FIVE different things if he truly meant just FOUR different things.
#1. Let no man therefore judge you in meat. OR,
#2. Let no man therefore judge you in drink. OR,
#3. Let no man therefore judge you in respect of an Holy Day. OR,
#4. Let no man therefore judge you in respect of a new moon. OR,
#5. Let no man therefore judge you in respect of the Sabbaths.
For THEY, all FIVE, are SHADOWS.
The Greek word translated as the Sabbath in the singular in the KJV is in the plural form in the Greek text.
And that is because the weekly Sabbath was kept and is still being kept by the Jews 52 weeks a year.
So, there are 52 weekly Sabbaths every year starting 430 years AFTER the covenant of PROMISE that God made with Abraham.
But the weekly Sabbaths are not the yearly Sabbaths that Paul refers to as a Holy Day to DISTINGUISH the weekly Sabbaths from the yearly Sabbaths.
And that is why Paul listed FIVE categories contained in ordinances and not just FOUR categories contained in ordinances.
In the Old Testament, the meat and the drink are NOT listed.
Nehemiah 10:31.
“And if the people of the land bring ware or any victuals on the Sabbath day to sell, that we would not buy it of them on the Sabbath, or on the holy day: and that we would leave the seventh year, and the exaction of every debt.”
Please know and understand that the weekly Sabbath DAY is ALSO called “an Holy DAY” in Exodus 35:2.
Exodus 35:2.
“Six days shall work be done, but on the seventh day there shall be to you an holy day, a Sabbath of rest to the LORD: whosoever does work therein shall be put to death.”
So, why would Paul list FIVE different categories in Colossians 2:16 as their ORDINANCES being nailed to the cross and list the feast day Sabbaths TWICE?
My point is that Paul woul NOT do that! And thus, the Sabbath is intended by Paul to mean the WEEKLY Sabbath as ALSO being a SHADOW pointing to Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST.
Again, Paul says, THEREFORE, let no man JUDGE you in respect of the following FOUR things.
#1. The dietary laws, meat and drink, contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.
#2. A Holy day, which again means FEAST days contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.
#3. The new moon DAYS contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.
#4. The SABBATH contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.
Now, the SDA Church knows full well that all the ceremonial law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES were ADDED at Mount Horeb that is also called Mount Sinai.
But they CLAIM that #4, “The SABBATH contained in ORDINANCES that were nailed to the cross.” was NOT nailed to the cross BECAUSE, according to THEM, ONLY #4 is NOT a SHADOW, based upon THEIR own personal “interpretation” of the Scriptures.
So then, WHY do they try to force the Sabbath in #4 to not be the weekly Sabbath?
The obvious answer is that they NEED the word “Sabbath” in #4 to be the yearly feast days or at least one of the yearly feast daysQ
Otherwise, their whole church doctrine on the weekly Sabbath being BINDING on Christians would fall apart.
Keep in mind that this is the SDA Church argument and that OTHER seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians have all sorts of DIFFERENT interpretations of Paul's words to try to explain them away.
With that being said, let us continue reading the SDA Church argument as to why the weekly Sabbath day is not a SHADOW.
For you see, their whole argument for the ORDINANCES of the weekly Sabbath DAY not being nailed to the cross is their CLAIM that the weekly Sabbath DAY is NOT a SHADOW.
Let us continue examining the SDA argument.
Now it is fully established which law was blotted out and nailed to the cross. (Only to those who are being deceived is it fully established) At the moment of Christ’s death, the veil of the temple was ripped from top to bottom by an unseen hand (Matthew 27:51). The most holy place of the sanctuary was exposed where the sprinkled blood recorded all the sins of the people.
But no more blood needed to be sprinkled; no more lambs needed to be slain; the true Lamb had come to which all those sacrifices pointed. From henceforth, it would be a denial of the Saviour to bring animals. It would be denying that He was the fulfillment of all the shadows and types. Therefore, it would be “against us” or “contrary to us” to continue observing that mosaic law.
And the TEN Commandments are a part of the Law of Moses that Yahweh gave to Moses at the SAME period of time that God gave ALL the Law of God to be written down in the book of the law as a TESTIMONY that would be placed in the SIDE of the ark while the second set of the two stone tables were placed INSIDE of the Ark of the COVENANT.
Deuteronomy 5:31.
“But as for you, stand you here by Me, and I will speak unto you ALL the commandments, and (All) the statutes, and (All) the judgments, which you shall TEACH them, that they may do them in the land which I give them to possess it.”
So, you can NOT separate the Law of Moses from the TEN Commandments but we can know and understands that the STATUTES or the ORDINANCES contained in all the CEREMONIAL commandments were abolished and nailed to the cross, according to Ephesians 2:15 and Colossians 2:14-17 because the “ceremonial” commandments are SHADOWS pointing to Jesus.
And the FOURTH commandment is a ceremonial commandment contained in ORDINANCES, as in, the ORDINANCES were abolished and nailed to the cross.
Again, it is NOT the commandment ITSELF that was abolished, but rather, it was the ORDINANCES contained in the FOURTH commandment that were abolished. NONE of the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments were abolished.
So, the law that Jesus came to NOT abolish but to FULFILL the law of the ceremonial commandments. Let me explain what I mean by this.
The Greek word “kataluo” means overthrow and it carries the meaning of overthrowing COMPLETELY.
So then, Jesus came NOT to overthrow the law COMPLETELY but to FULFILL the law AND the PROPHETS COMPLETELY.
Now, we all know and agree that NONE of the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments have any PROPHECIES in them.
But we do know and understand that ALL of the “ceremonial” commandments have SHADOWS, types and figures in the ORDINANCES contained in the ceremonial commandments that point to Jesus and the New Covenant.
So, the question now becomes “does the FOURTH commandment in the TEN Commandments have any ORDINANCES that God commanded Moses to write down in the book of the law?” YES!
Also, question number two, “are any of those ordinances contained in the FOURTH commandment SHADOWS pointing to Jesus and the New Covenant?” YES!
And question number three, “do any of the PROPHECIES surrounding and hidden in the commandant of the Sabbath rest point to Jesus and the New Covenant?” YES!
To learn the true sound Biblical meaning of ORDINANCES you can read the study called Dd-4. WHAT DOES EPHESIANS 2:8,9 TRULY MEAN?
And Dd-5. WHAT DOES CONTAINED IN ORDINANCES TRULY MEAN?
But for now, please understand that the ordinances contained in the ceremonial commandments are the instructions on HOW to keep each individual ceremonial commandment UNTO Yahweh.
In other words, the ordinances in the ceremonial commandments are the “LETTER” of the law under the Old Covenant and under the New Covenant we are to keep the “SPIRIT” of the law which is the TRUE meaning of why the ceremonial commandments were given in the first place.
For you see, God seeks for us to worship Him in SPIRIT and in TRUTH.
Let us continue reading the SDA Church argument for why the weekly Sabbath is not a SHADOW.
To clarify this issue further, let’s ask a very simple question or two. On the day before Jesus died, would it have been a sin for a man to refuse to bring a lamb in order to have his sins forgiven? The answer, of course, is yes. It would have been a sin, because that was the only way to be forgiven. Another question: Would it have been a sin to refuse to bring that lamb, THE DAY AFTER JESUS DIED?
No, because the true Lamb had died, the veil had been rent, and the ordinances blotted out. A law had been abolished by being nailed to the cross—the ceremonial law of Moses. Paul referred to the same law in Ephesians 2:15, “Having abolished in his flesh the enmity, even the law of commandments contained in ordinances ...”
I absolutely agree that ALL of the “ceremonial” commandments contained in ordinances is what the Apostle Paul is referring to in Ephesians 2:8-15 as being the WORKS that we are not saved by lest there is boasting.
It is ONLY the handwriting of the ORDINANCES of the CEREMONIAL commandments that was abolished and nailed to the cross.
But the TRUE SPIRIT of all of the ceremonial laws is still binding to be kept.
In other words, a person can NOT be saved until he or she KEEPS the SPIRIT of the FOURTH commandment. Let me explain what I mean by this.
The fourth commandment was given to the children of Israel as a SIGN pointing to the New PERPETUAL COVENANT.
And Jesus is God’s NEW COVENANT, according to Isaiah 42:6.
And unless a person accepts God’s New Covenant they can NOT be SAVED.
Therefore, a person MUST believe in the SPIRIT of the law of the fourth commandment first in order to be saved.
The “spirit” of the law is the TRUE spiritual meaning that the law points to and the fourth commandment point to Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST to enter into the New PERPETUAL COVENANT that was established in the shed blood of Jesus our TRUE Passover Lamb.
Jesus said that he is the FIRST and the LAST and that the Scriptures TESTIFY of Him.
The FIRST and the LAST letters of the Hebrew alphabet are the Aleph and the Tav.
The Aleph and the Tav appear all over the place in the Scriptures having the word “Sabbath” in them.
Here is one example in Exodus 31:13,14. I will translate the hidden untranslated Aleph and Tav as Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus since Jesus said that He is the FIRST and the LAST and the Scriptures testify of Him.
Exodus 31:13,14.
“Speak you also unto the children of Israel, saying, Verily My (Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) Sabbaths you shall keep: for it is a SIGN between Me and you throughout your generations; THAT you may KNOW that I am the LORD that does SANCTIFY you. (And HOW does Yahweh sanctify us under the New Covenant?
By our FAITH in Messiah Jesus as our TRUE Passover Lamb)
Exodus 31:14. You shall keep the (Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) Sabbath, THEREFORE; (Or for this very reason, It is holy. And the pronoun It (LITERALLY reads for He) is holy unto you: every one that defiles It (Or whosoever defiles Him) shall surely be put to death: for whosoever does any work therein, that soul shall be cut off from among His people.”
In the literal translation the untranslated Aleph Tav is indicated by the double arrows like so “>>” to show that the first and last letters of the Hebrew alphabet are not translated.
And in E-Sword if you click on KJV+, then the verses in the Bible will show all the Strong’s numbers after each word that is in the original text.
And the Strong’s number for the untranslated Aleph Tav is (H583). Here is another example in Exodus 21:16,17 where I will show the placement of (H583) right before the word Sabbath.
Exodus 21:16,17.
“Wherefore, (Or for this reason) the children of Israel shall keep (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) the Sabbath, to OBSERVE H6213 (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) the Sabbath throughout their generations, for a PERPETUAL COVENANT.
Exodus 21:17. It is a SIGN (The LITERAL translation says SIGN He) between Me and the children of Israel for ever: for in six days the LORD made (H853) heaven and earth, and on the seventh day He rested, and was refreshed.”
I highlighted the words to OBSERVE because the very reason that the children of Israel were commanded to KEEP the weekly Sabbath DAY was to OBSERVE or to DISCERN the TRUE spiritual meaning for why the keeping of the seventh DAY was given to them in the first place.
And the TRUE spiritual meaning of the ceremonial fourth commandment of the Sabbath REST is to REST in Jesus as our true Sabbath REST to enter into the New PERPETUAL COVENANT.
The Old Covenant was never meant to last. And that is why God made the first covenant OLD so He could give His New PERPETUAL COVENANT that was established in the shed blood of our TRUE Passover Lamb.
And the very reason for God's NEW COVENANT is so that we can rest in Jesus as our TRUE Sabbath REST for holiness to be able to enter into the Seventh 1000-year long day of Yahweh’s Sabbath rest in the world to come. Let us move on to the next SDA argument.
Now let’s ask another question: On the day before Jesus died, was it a sin to steal? Undoubtedly it was. On the day after He died, was it a sin to steal? The answer is yes; it was just as wrong as the day before He died.
Obviously, all the blotting out of ordinances, types and shadows did not affect the great moral code of the Ten Commandments in the slightest degree—they all applied afterward as much as before Christ died.
I absolutely AGREE! NONE of the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments were abolished or nailed to the cross.
That is why ALL SIX MORAL commandments are repeated along with many other moral commandments explained as well in the New Testament under the New PERPETUAL Covenant.
And any Christians that teach that ALL of the TEN Commandments were nailed to the cross are in ERROR and they are not interpreting the Scriptures correctly.
It was only the ORDINANCES, as in, the LETTER of the law of all the CEREMONIAL commandments to Yahweh, that were nailed to the cross so that we can keep the “SPIRIT” of the TRUE meaning of all the ceremonial commandments.
And the FOURTH commandment is a ceremonial commandment to Yahweh that is contained in ORDINANCES.
Again, the SDA Church knows full well that ALL of the feast days and the dietary laws are SHADOWS.
There are Christians today who still insist that the yearly sabbaths should be observed along with the weekly Sabbath. If such is required, then what were the sabbath days which were blotted out and nailed to the cross? And what was the “holyday” mentioned by Paul as being abolished along with those “sabbath days which were shadows of things to come?”
Notice that this SDA Christian who wrote this SDA Church article says, ALONG WITH those Sabbath days, which WERE SHADOWS.
The weekly Sabbath is a “holy day” as well. So was Paul talking about the weekly Sabbath “holy day” as being abolished ALONG WITH those “Sabbath days” which WERE SHADOWS?
Or was Paul talking about the yearly feast day “holy days” being abolished ALONG WITH those Sabbath days which WERE SHADOWS?
What other Sabbaths are there other than the yearly feasts ALONG WITH the weekly Sabbath days?
There are no other Sabbath days. So why would Paul list FOUR things separated by the conjunction “or” and TWO of those things be the SAME thing?
Can you not see that the SDA Church “INTERPRETATION” of Colossians 2:16 is in ERROR?
Jesus nailed the ordinances of the yearly feast holy days to the cross ALONG WITH the Sabbaths, speaking of the only other Sabbaths that there are, the WEEKLY Sabbaths which WERE SHADOWS that were nailed to the cross as well.
The Greek word for “holy day” is heorte, which is also used to designate one of the yearly festivals of the Jews: “After this there was a feast (heorte) of the Jews; and Jesus went up to Jerusalem” John 5:1.
This is unquestionably one of the holy days that Paul spoke of as being abolished. In contrast, the weekly Sabbath is never referred to as a “feast,” neither is it ever connected to the Jews by such terms as “sabbath of the Jews.” It is only designated as the “sabbath of the Lord.”
While it is true that the term “Sabbath of the Jews” is not found in the Bible that does NOT mean that the weekly Sabbath day was never connected to the Jews.
The Jews were always accusing Jesus of breaking the weekly Sabbath day by healing people on the seventh day.
Please read Luke 13:14.
“And the ruler of the synagogue answered with indignation, because that Jesus had healed on the Sabbath day, and said unto the people, There are six days in which men ought to work: in them, therefore, come and be healed, and not on the Sabbath day.”
And I agree that the weekly Sabbath DAY is to the Lord and not toward our fellow man like the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments.
It is of more than passing interest that some of the most noted Bible commentators (including Adam Clarke and Albert Barnes) agree that Paul is not talking about the Ten Commandments being abolished at the cross. Dwight L. Moody, Dr. C. I. Schofield and Billy Graham also strongly affirm that the law abolished was the ceremonial law.
And the weekly Sabbath DAY is a ceremonial law to Yahweh and NOT toward man like the SIX MORAL commandments in the TEN Commandments.
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN HEAVEN
THE TEN COMMANDMENTS IN HEAVEN
Perhaps we should ask right at this point, what is the significance of the tables of God’s law being placed inside the ark of the covenant?
Remember that this spot was the most holy on the earth because it represented God’s throne. God had said, “there I will meet with thee, and I will commune with thee from above the mercy seat, from between the cherubims” (Exodus 25:22). Below that shekinah glory, symbolizing the presence of God, lay that holy law by which sin was to be defined. And there, as we know from the Scriptures, Jesus, our High Priest, was to plead His blood for sinners.
Let us go ahead and read Exodus 25:21,22 with the hidden Aleph Tav H853 translated as (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) so you can see the TRUE Spiritual meaning on the mercy seat and the TESTIMONY inside of the Ark of the Covenant.
Exodus 25:21,22 with (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus).
“And you shall put the (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) mercy seat above upon the ark; and in the ark thou shalt put the (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) testimony that I shall give you.
Exodus 25:22. And there (Which is from H834 the Hebrew word “asher” that is found in Exodus 3:14 “I shall become who I am becoming”.
And the spoken word of prophet that came out from God was made flesh who we now know is Messiah Jesus testified by the Aleph and Tav) I will meet with you, and I will commune with you from above the mercy seat, from between the two cherubims which are upon the ark of the testimony (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus), of all things which I will give you in commandment (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) unto the children of Israel.”
If the SDA Christians as well as all the seventh day of the “LETTER” of the law Sabbath-keeping Christians would stop focusing so intensely on their keeping of the “LETTER” of the law to keep a DAY then they would see the TRUE SPIRITUAL meaning of why the weekly Sabbath DAY was given to the children of Israel in the first place.
All of the ceremonial commandments were given to the children of Israel as a SCHOOLMASTER to lead them to Jesus.
But after FAITH has come then the person who BELIEVES in Jesus as the one testified in the ceremonial commandments then they are not bound by the “LETTER” of the law of commandments contained in ORDINANCES because those handwriting of ORDINANCES have been nailed to the cross.
And thus, they are FREE to keep the SPIRIT of the fourth commandment to not allow other Christians to JUDGE them for NOT keeping the “LETTER” of the law of the fourth commandment contained in ordinances.
The earthly sanctuary was copied by Moses from the pattern in heaven. All its priestly ministry was a type and shadow of the work of Jesus, the true High Priest, in the holy and most holy places of the heavenly sanctuary.
“Christ is not entered into the holy places made with hands, which are the figures of the true; but into heaven itself, now to appear in the presence of God for us” (Hebrews 9:24). John the Revelator beheld the original sanctuary in heaven where Christ now ministers as High Priest to make atonement for sin. What is sin?
“Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4). Which law? John gives the answer in Revelation 11:19, “... the temple of God was opened in heaven, and there was seen in His temple the ark of His testament.”
Think of it for a moment! This is the real thing from which all the Old Testament was patterned. Here is the real Priest, the real mediation, and in THE ARK of THE COVENANT, the real Ten Commandments. But please consider this horrendous scenario—if THE LAW THAT WAS in THE ARK WAS ABROGATED at THE CROSS, CHRIST is MEDIATING FOR THE TRANSGRESSION of an OBSOLETE LAW!
Keep in mind that John is beholding this heavenly scene years and years after the cross. It is still there today! In the throne room of God, over the mercy seat, where His blood is now sprinkled for the blotting out of sin. Sin is still what it has ever been, and Christ ministers His blood for sin. No wonder the mercy seat is located just above the broken law.
Remove the ark containing God’s law and you remove the foundation of His throne, His government. You also remove the law by which sin can be defined and judged. If there be no law, there can be no transgression, and therefore, no need of an Intercessor or a Saviour.
With the heavenly sanctuary located so definitely in the throne room of God over the ark containing the Ten Commandments, there is not a shred of evidence remaining against the validity of that law.
The truth is that all men will be judged on the basis of that eternal code which forms the foundation of God’s government.
James wrote, “For whosoever shall keep the whole law and yet offend in one point, he is guilty of all.
For he that said, Do not commit adultery, said also, Do not kill. Now if thou commit no adultery, yet if thou kill, thou art become a transgressor of the law. So speak ye, and so do, as they that shall be judged by the law of liberty” (James 2:10-12).
The SDA Church has taken yet another verse of Scripture OUT of its CONTEXT to pervert its true meaning.
This SDA Christian wrongly teaches that we will be JUDGED by the TEN Commandments but the context of this verse clearly teaches us that we will be judged by the law of LIBERTY.
Acts teaches us that Yahweh will judge the world by the MAN Jesus Christ. Jesus is the faithful and true WITNESS who established the New Covenant in His shed blood. Revelation does NOT say that the TEN Commandments are up in heaven in an ark.
But rather, it says the ark of His TESTAMENT. The word “testament” means covenant.
Not the first Covenant that God made OLD and it has vanished away.
But rather, God New Covenant is under the Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus mercy seat up in heaven.
Do not by any means miss the tremendous truths contained in these verses.
I agree when these verses are CORRECTLY interpreted.
Watch how the SDA Church distorts the true meaning of James 2:12 by focusing only on verse 11.
It is the law of LIBERTY that we will be JUDGED by but the SDA Church CLAIMS that James is saying that we will be judged by the TEN Commandments.
This is the law we will be judged by! Which law is it? James leaves no room for doubt.
He quotes two of the Ten Commandments. But notice how he defines this law as a complete unit in itself. He states that we are responsible for keeping “the whole law.”
What James is saying is that if a Jew or a Christian chooses to keep the law to be saved then they must keep the WHOLE law and not ever break even one point of the law lest they be judged by that law.
This is a WARNING to not try and keep the Old Covenant.
Let me say this another way, it is not an exhortation to keep the law under the Old Covenant. James says in the very next verse, so do as THEY who shall be judged by the Law of LIBERTY.
Read the following verses of Scripture on your own [1 Corinthians 8:7-13; 1 Corinthians 10:25-29; 2 Corinthians 3:14-17; Galatians 2:4 and the whole chapter; Galatians 5:1 and the whole chapter; and 1 Peter 2:16]
But for now, let us continue with the SDA Church arguments for why the weekly Sabbath DAY is not a SHADOW in order to try and prove that the ORDINANCES of the weekly Sabbath DAY were not nailed to the cross.
How many commandments are contained in “the whole law”? Exactly ten! What do we become if we break any one of the ten? “A transgressor of the law,” James answers. And that is what sin is called in the Bible. “Sin is the transgression of the law” (1 John 3:4).
In truth, there are only TWO commandments under the New Covenant written in the New Testament. And by our walking in love, we fulfill ALL the Law of God that Yahweh requires in order to receive eternal life in the world to come.
Why did Jesus come? “Thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins” (Matthew 1:21). Notice that Jesus came to save us from breaking the law, but “... if any man sin, we have an advocate with the Father, Jesus Christ the righteous” (1 John 2:1).
Here we have a picture of our High Priest, our Advocate, interceding with His own blood in the heavenly sanctuary before the Father’s throne on behalf of those who break His law. Where is the throne located? Over the ark of the covenant containing the law by which James says all “shall be judged.”
And that law is the Law of LIBERTY and NOT the keeping of the “LETTER” of the law in the FOURTH commandment.
Is there any validity to the argument that the Ten Commandments were all abolished at the cross, and then nine of them restored in the New Testament? This is a specious invention to attempt evasion of the fourth commandment. No Christian has ever found fault with nine of the commandments. Why would they want to get rid of the fourth?
Obviously because they are breaking it and do not want to believe that they stand condemned by it. Can they annul the entire decalogue, and then reinstate nine of them? We have proven already that only the mosaic law was annulled—not the Ten Commandments.
Further, James has declared that the whole of that law is binding, and breaking any one of them is sin. How can anybody extract the fourth commandment from the Ten Commandments and still call it a “whole law”?
Again, the fourth commandment ITSELF was NOT abolished and nailed to the cross.
It was ONLY the “LETTER” of the law of the fourth commandment CONTAINED in ORDINANCES that instructed the children of Israel HOW to rest on the seventh DAY.
And Christians ARE keeping the fourth commandment by our keeping the TRUE SPIRITUAL meaning of the Sabbath DAY.
Please read Romans 7:6.
“But NOW we are DELIVERED FROM the law, that being dead wherein we were held; THAT we should serve in newness of SPIRIT, and NOT in the oldness of the LETTER.”
Incidentally, the Sabbath is mentioned in the New Testament more than any of the other nine. This could be tied to the fact that God has apparently chosen the fourth commandment to be the great test issued in His law. In Exodus 16 He used the Seventh-day Sabbath to “prove to them, whether they will walk in My law, or no” (Exodus 16:4).
Here are the TRUE FACTS concerning the word Sabbath in the New Testament.
The word “Sabbath” is found 60 times in the New Testament in 55 different verses of Scripture. And yet not one of those verses of Scriptures even hints at mentioning that we must keep the weekly Sabbath DAY.
Yes, Jesus kept the Sabbath because He was born UNDER the Old Testament covenant.
The New Covenant had not yet been established in the shed blood of Jesus.
And that accounts for FIFTY of the 60 times that the word “Sabbath” is found in the New Testament.
Out of the ten other times, the word “Sabbath” is found nine times in the book of Acts.
One of those 9 times was before the church began on the Day of Pentecost
And the other 8 times are all connected with the gospel being preached on the Sabbath day.
And the final time that the word “Sabbath” is found is in Colossians 2:16 where Paul clearly teaches us that the ORDINANCES contained in the Sabbaths were NAILED to the cross.
Now since ALL the other 59 times that the word “Sabbath” is found in the New Testament means the WEEKLY Sabbath, then how is it that only the LAST time the word “Sabbath” is found in the New Testament the SDA Christians dogmatically demand that it is NOT the weekly Sabbath day.
Sounds to me like there is a lot of BIAS in their interpretation of Colossians 2:14-17.
For the TRUE SOUND Biblical meaning please read Dd-3. WHAT DOES COLOSSIANS 2:14-17 TRULY MEAN?
Is there reason to believe that the Sabbath contains a testing quality that cannot be found in any of the other nine commandments? It is an interesting question to contemplate. Besides being worded in a totally different manner (“remember” instead of “thou shalt not”), the fourth commandment is the one which does not have a stigma attached to breaking it.
One might abstain from stealing for fear of going to jail, and from adultery for fear of getting shot by an angry spouse. In fact, it is illegal to break some of the Ten Commandments, so they might be obeyed simply to avoid the negative consequences of disobedience.
BUT CONSIDER THIS: IN OUR WORLD TODAY, THE FOURTH COMMANDMENT ACTUALLY CARRIES A STIGMA FOR KEEPING it!
In fact, the only reason one would choose to obey it is out of love for Christ and choosing His will above our own. Therefore, it would constitute a special test of genuine love for Christ.
The FACT that the fourth commandment STANDS OUT from the either nine commandments is by God’s design.
God has made the fourth commandment stand out because He wants the children of Israel, and us for that matter, to see the TRUE meaning for why He gave the fourth commandment to the children of Israel in the first place.
God gave the fourth commandment as a SIGN to the children of Israel for them to keep so THAT they would observe or to discern WHO the SIGN of the Sabbath DAY of REST is pointing to so that they will keep him, the Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus for holiness.
Let us read the literal translation of Exodus 20:7,8 which is the THIRD and the FOURTH commandments.
LITERAL translation of Exodus 20:7,8.
“Not you shall take up the (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) name of Yahweh, Elohim of you for futility, that Yahweh He shall not hold you innocent he who is taking up (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) name of Him for futility
Exodus 20:8. To remember (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus) day of the Sabbath to hallow of Him”
So then, the Sabbath DAY is an it that was given as a SHADOW to make holy HIM (H853 Aleph Tav Messiah Jesus).
Paul teaches us that the NATURAL comes FIRST and then comes the SPIRITUAL.
So then, the keeping of the letter of the law of a natural physical DAY of the week came first under the Old Covenant.
And NOW, under the New Covenant, we are to keep the TRUE Spiritual meaning of what the SHADOW of the seventh DAY Sabbath REST points to.
And since every other ceremonial commandment points to Jesus then why would the ceremonial command of the FOURTH commandment be any different?
So to me, Jesus is our TRUE Sabbath REST that we enter into when we are initially saved.
And if we remain RESTING in Jesus for HOLINESS and RIGHTEOUSNESS then we will be found worthy to enter into the Seventh 1000-year long day of Yahweh’s rest that REMAINS in the future in the world to come.
This concludes part 5 of this series of studies on Dd-33. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH DAY BINDING?
In part 6 called Dd-37b. WHAT DOES HEBREWS 4:1-11 TRULY MEAN? we will cover the SDA Church INTERPRETATION of that verse of Scripture to expose the errors of interpretation made by SDA Christians claiming that Hebrew 4:6 means that the weekly Sabbath DAY remains binding and that means Christians MUST keep the weekly Sabbath DAY on the seventh day of the week.
And if you have not read parts 1-4 please read the studies called part 1 of Dd-33. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH DAY BINDING?
To read Part 2 click on Dd-34. IS THE WEEKLY SABBATH BINDING? Part 2.
And to read part 3 please click on the study Dd-35. HOW CAN THE WEEKLY SABBATH BE AGAINST US?
And Part 4 is called Dd-36. WERE THE TEN COMMANDMENTS GIVEN TO ADAM?
Plus you can also find the links to all the Bible studies that I have written on the subject of the weekly Sabbath DAY under the heading **Dd-0. WHAT IS THE TRUE SABBATH?**
This study was just the TIP of the iceberg of exposing the ERRORS of interpretation made by the Saturday seventh day of the week Sabbath-keeping churches, and the Sunday first day of the week Sabbath-keeping Christians.
All of the studies listed below can be sent to a brother or sister caught up in the Hebrew Roots Movement or a Sabbath-keeping church by sending them this one link **Dd-0. What Is the TRUE SABBATH?**
Also read Dd-20. Did the EARLY Church KEEP the WEEKLY Sabbath DAY?
Thanks for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
Once Christians, Jews, Muslims, and even atheists understand the REASON that Yahweh CREATED the Son of MAN, Jesus, was to have DOMINION over the work of Yahweh’s hands.
And after you understand that the REASON that Yahweh did that is to STILL His ENEMIES, Satan and the fallen angels.
Then you can understand that God made His human Son to become “a” Lord, “a” King, and “a” God, under and subject to his God and Father in order to JUDGE Satan and the fallen angels.
For a deeper understanding of this WAR that Lucifer and one third of the angels waged against the throne of Almighty God, please read the studies under the subject category called ** Q-0 Why Are We Here? Is God at WAR? **.
More studies are coming in this SHORTER Biblical Unitarian view of who Jesus is according to the WHOLE word of God.
If you have a PARTICULAR verse of Scripture that you would like to know the sound Biblical Unitarian meaning, then please email me at MarkatAMatterOfTruth@Gmail.com and let me know.
For further and more in-depth studies on this subject of Jesus being created to STILL the enemies of Yahweh, please read the studies called D-25. A NEW LOOK at JOHN 1:1-In the BEGINNING, and D-28. The PRE-ADAMIC LUCIFERIAN FLOOD!
At the top of my homepage, there are subjects or categories which contain compiled lists of ** ALL Studies! ** I have written on that particular subject. So, if a link within a study is broken, then click on ** ALL Studies! ** to find the suggested study.
Or you can scroll down to the MORE dropdown menu list to find those studies as well.
Thanks again for reading, and may God bless you richly as you continue to seek the TRUTH of the WHOLE word of Almighty God.
And to me, the truth concerning who Jesus TRULY is, according to the Bible ITSELF, is the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus.
And again, for ALL of the studies on the Biblical Unitarian view of Jesus, please click on the subject heading ** D-0 The BIBLICAL UNITARIAN VIEW of Jesus! **
And for the SUBJECT on the true foundation of the church, please click on the subject heading ** C-0 The TRUE FOUNDATION of the Church! **
This way you can just send ONE link to those who you want to share the TRUE sound Biblical FOUNDATIONAL teachings of the church that Jesus and his Apostles taught in the first century church.
Your brother in our Lord Jesus Christ,
Brother Mark.
My heartfelt prayer is that all Christians RETURN to the TRUE FOUNDATION of the church that is taught by the very Apostles of Jesus in the first century.
So let us all come into the UNITY of the faith and return to what Jesus and his Apostles taught us in SIMPLICITY in the New Testament.
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