Christian Journey

Jewish Sabbath and Christianity

Sabbath had been an important debate within Christianity, which resulted even in Sabbath based denominations. Here we will look into what Sabbath means, if Christians or Jews had to follow it today.

Exod 31:13,16-17 "Speak also to the children of Israel, saying: ‘Surely My 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 who sanctifies you.  …  Therefore the children of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, to observe the Sabbath throughout their generations as a perpetual covenant. It is a sign between Me and the children of Israel forever; for in six days the LORD made the heavens and the earth, and on the seventh day He rested and was refreshed.’

Deut 5:15 And remember that you were a slave in the land of Egypt, and the LORD your God brought you out from there by a mighty hand and by an outstretched arm; therefore the LORD your God commanded you to keep the Sabbath day.

As part of the old covenant, Sabbath was given to the children of Israel for the following two reasons:

 A sign that the children of Israel may know that He is the Lord who sanctifies them.

 A rest on the seventh day for the children of Israel were slaves in Egypt.

Apart from the Sabbath rest on the 7th day of each week, there are also feasts of the Lord where no work is allowed.

Exod 31:15b Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day, he shall surely be put to death.

Sabbath is really serious. Anyone who works on the Sabbath day will surely be put to death.

Sabbath & Old Testament Gentiles

Isa 56:3a,6-7 Do not let the son of the foreigner Who has joined himself to the LORD Speak, saying, The LORD has utterly separated me from His people …  Also the sons of the foreigner Who join themselves to the LORD, to serve Him, And to love the name of the LORD, to be His servants– Everyone who keeps from defiling the Sabbath, And holds fast My covenant– Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar; For My house shall be called a house of prayer for all nations.

Sabbath was for people of all nations who love the Lord and hold fast to His covenant (referring to the Old Covenant). It means, the foreigner who joined himself to the Lord had to do all the obligations of the Old Covenant just like any other Israelite yet they cannot inherit any land for there is no promise for any gentile in the Old Covenant. Hence, the Old Covenant clearly separates the children of Israel and gentiles.

Acts 15:1 And certain men came down from Judea and taught the brethren, "Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved."

This is exactly why in the early church the Jewish Christians wants the gentile Christians to circumcise according to the law of Moses to bring them into the congregation of Israel for them to be saved where Paul came to rescue. What the Jewish Christians said is absolutely correct if there was no New Covenant. However, things are different after Jesus came. So, what about now? Is Sabbath still valid today for gentile Christians?

Is Sabbath valid for gentile Christians?

As we saw earlier, Sabbath was given to the children of Israel as a sign for their sanctification and as a rest for they were slaves in Egypt.

 How did the Lord sanctify the children of Israel?

o Sacrifice (Leviticus 4)

 What was the ‘rest’ did the children of Israel receive?

o Promised Land (1 Kgs 8:56)

It is very important to note that there are absolutely no promises in the law for any gentiles who joined himself to the Lord.

Isa 56:7a Even them I will bring to My holy mountain, And make them joyful in My house of prayer. Their burnt offerings and their sacrifices Will be accepted on My altar

The only blessing for a gentile who follows the Old Covenant is pilgrimage. The reason being, Old Covenant was never given to gentiles but to the descendants of Jacob. Also, the Old Covenant provides no provision for a gentile to be part of the descendants of Jacob in order to inherit the promises of the Old Covenant.

Jas 2:10 For whoever shall keep the whole law, and yet stumble in one point, he is guilty of all.

Hence, following Sabbath means, keeping the Old Covenant and thus, must obey all of it. Therefore, uncircumcised Christians who do not keep the feasts of the Lord, yet follow the Sabbath (as most Sabbath denominations do), are guilt of all.

The New Covenant is the fulfillment of the Sabbath sign.

Heb 13:12 Therefore Jesus also, that He might sanctify the people with His own blood, suffered outside the gate.

Matt 11:28 "Come to Me, all you who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.

 Christ sacrificed Himself to sanctify us by His own blood.

 The rest is the eternal life with Christ in His Kingdom

Unlike the Old Covenant, the New Covenant is confined to the land of Israel  gives hope and promise to all people both Jews and non-Jews as Christ spoke in His great commission (Matt 28:18-20).

Deut 12:11 "then there will be the place where the LORD your God chooses to make His name abide. There you shall bring all that I command you: your burnt offerings, your sacrifices, your tithes, the heave offerings of your hand, and all your choice offerings which you vow to the LORD.

John 4:21-24 Jesus said to her, "Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. You worship what you do not know; we know what we worship, for salvation is of the Jews. But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth."

Christ gave a clear indication that the worship according to the Old Covenant where the children of Israel must worship on the appointed place will come to an end.

Col 2:16-17 So let no one judge you in food or in drink, or regarding a festival or a new moon or sabbaths, which are a shadow of things to come, but the substance is of Christ.

Paul also mentioned, Sabbaths are a shadow of things to come pointing to the New Covenant. There is no Sabbath obligation in New Covenant for inheriting eternal life which is promised. Hence, Sabbath is not valid for gentile Christians.

Is Sabbath valid for today’s Jews?

As we saw earlier, the Old Covenant was not given to gentiles, nor does it have any promise for gentiles to inherit the land of Israel. The Sabbath law was never given to uncircumcised gentiles. But, what about Jews? Can they use the Old Covenant? While the Old Covenant promises the land of Israel as rest, the New Covenant promises eternal life, rest with Christ.

Heb 8:7-13 For if that first covenant had been faultless, then no place would have been sought for a second. Because finding fault with them, He says: "Behold, the days are coming, says the LORD, when I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah– not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day when I took them by the hand to lead them out of the land of Egypt; because they did not continue in My covenant, and I disregarded them, says the LORD.  For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, says the LORD: I will put My laws in their mind and write them on their hearts; and I will be their God, and they shall be My people. None of them shall teach his neighbor, and none his brother, saying, ‘Know the LORD,’ for all shall know Me, from the least of them to the greatest of them.  For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their lawless deeds I will remember no more. In that He says, A new covenant," He has made the first obsolete. Now what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.

The author of Hebrews gives an excellent explanation of how the first covenant is now becoming obsolete and both Jews and gentiles are not under it. It is important to note that the Old Covenant is not yet obsolete because Christ still had to fulfill the fall feasts of the Lord during His second coming as per the law, which the Jews were symbolically doing it in during the Old Testament times.

It is also important to note that Jesus Christ did not make the New Covenant with the gentiles for salvation is of the Jews. But, unlike the Old Covenant, the New Covenant includes people of all nations.

Heb 4:4-10 For He has spoken in a certain place of the seventh day in this way: "And God rested on the seventh day from all His works; and again in this place: They shall not enter My rest. Since therefore it remains that some must enter it, and those to whom it was first preached did not enter because of disobedience, again He designates a certain day, saying in David, Today, after such a long time, as it has been said: Today, if you will hear His voice, Do not harden your hearts. For if Joshua had given them rest, then He would not afterward have spoken of another day. There remains therefore a rest for the people of God. For he who has entered His rest has himself also ceased from his works as God did from His.

The sign of Sabbath in the Old Covenant was all along pointing to our rest with Christ as explained by the author of Hebrews. If the New Covenant replaces the Old Covenant, and the New Covenant was given to Jews where the seventh day rest was not included, then Sabbath is not valid for today’s Jews as well.

The only book in the New Testament which God gave Jesus Christ to show His servants is the book of Revelation. We are blessed for reading, hearing and keeping the things that are written in that book. Not once Sabbath was mentioned.

Did Sunday replaced Sabbath?

Absolutely not! There is no reference in the Bible that says this.

Acts 20:7 Now on the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul, ready to depart the next day, spoke to them and continued his message until midnight.

Since there is no Sabbath in the New Covenant, Christians chose the first day when the Lord rose from the dead as the day to gather, break bread and have fellowship.

Conclusion

Following Sabbath means, keeping the Old Covenant and thus, must obey all of it. Therefore, uncircumcised Christians who do not keep the feasts of the Lord, yet follow the Sabbath (as most Sabbath denominations do), are guilt of all. The New Covenant which replaces the Old Covenant has no Sabbath obligations. The only book in the New Testament that contains the revelations which God gave Jesus Christ to show His servants is the book of Revelation where Sabbath is not mentioned even once.

Types of Governments in the Bible

One of the most successful form of government in modern days is Democracy where people choose their own leaders. Abraham Lincoln famously quoted government of the people, by the people, for the people, shall not perish from the earth. But what form of government does the Bible say will not perish?

Isa 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

Dan 2:44 "And in the days of these kings the God of heaven will set up a kingdom which shall never be destroyed; and the kingdom shall not be left to other people; it shall break in pieces and consume all these kingdoms, and it shall stand forever.

The only government that will not have an end is God’s Kingdom ruled by Christ the King (John 18:36-37) which is theocracy. In this blog, we will look into some of the types of governments mentioned in the Bible.

Theocracy

1Sam 12:12 "And when you saw that Nahash king of the Ammonites came against you, you said to me, ‘No, but a king shall reign over us,’ when the LORD your God was your king.

When God brought the children of Israel into the promised land, there was no king. God Himself was their King. Theocracy was the best form of Government which God always intended for His people as we see in Torah.

Judg 21:25 In those days there was no king in Israel; everyone did what was right in his own eyes.

It is important to note that the time of theocracy in the history of Israel is also the period of Judges when people did what was right in their own eyes. This is because, while God was their King and He had already given rules to follow, there was no godly king who can rule them over to guide them like a human king would do.

Monarchy

1Sam 8:22 So the LORD said to Samuel, Heed their voice, and make them a king. And Samuel said to the men of Israel, Every man go to his city.

The people rebelled against God and He allowed Israelites to have a king reign over them rather than God.

1 Sam 8:11-17 And he said, "This will be the behavior of the king who will reign over you: He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers. And he will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants. And he will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

God gives 7 reasons to Samuel for him to explain to the people why monarchy is not best for the children of Israel.

1. He will take your sons and appoint them for his own chariots and to be his horsemen, and some will run before his chariots.

2. He will appoint captains over his thousands and captains over his fifties, will set some to plow his ground and reap his harvest, and some to make his weapons of war and equipment for his chariots.

3. He will take your daughters to be perfumers, cooks, and bakers.

4. He will take the best of your fields, your vineyards, and your olive groves, and give them to his servants.

5. He will take a tenth of your grain and your vintage, and give it to his officers and servants.

6. He will take your male servants, your female servants, your finest young men, and your donkeys, and put them to his work.

7. He will take a tenth of your sheep. And you will be his servants.

Monarchy by itself is not bad. If you look into the reasons why Monarchy is bad, it depends on the king. Monarchy is so good if ruled by a king like David of united Israel who walked according to God’s own heart, yet horrible if ruled by a king like Manasseh of Judah who even sacrificed his own sons to idols.

Isa 9:6-7 For unto us a Child is born, Unto us a Son is given; And the government will be upon His shoulder. And His name will be called Wonderful, Counselor, Mighty God, Everlasting Father, Prince of Peace. Of the increase of His government and peace There will be no end, Upon the throne of David and over His kingdom, To order it and establish it with judgment and justice From that time forward, even forever. The zeal of the LORD of hosts will perform this.

God was looking for a king who will take care of His people and guide them but not store up things for himself or make use of His people for the comfort of Himself. He found none. Hence, God came down in flesh to be that King. When Jews where expecting a King, a ruler who will defeat the Romans and the other oppressors of Israel, they got a suffering King who gave His own life for His people. While Israel was thinking and focusing of their own salvation, God’s plan is far bigger that by His death and rising again, He defeated death itself providing a plan of salvation for all people. Now, the King who is Jesus Christ promises us a new Kingdom that will have no end. But the King went to the Father teaching us how to live and will return at the end of days.

Communism

Communism is a theory or system of social organization in which all property is owned by the community and each person contributes and receives according to their ability and needs.

Acts 2:44-47 Now all who believed were together, and had all things in common, and sold their possessions and goods, and divided them among all, as anyone had need. So continuing daily with one accord in the temple, and breaking bread from house to house, they ate their food with gladness and simplicity of heart, praising God and having favor with all the people. And the Lord added to the church daily those who were being saved.

The early church actually followed Christian communism. It was taught by Jesus to share our wealth with the poor (Matt 19:21), care for each other’s needs (Matt 25:31-46) and live in harmony by loving one another (John 13:34) as one body of Christ. This is the form of government Christians are called to follow by having Christ as their King, yet obeying any form of government or rulers under which they are in this world.

Matt 13:38 "The field is the world, the good seeds are the sons of the kingdom, but the tares are the sons of the wicked one.

Rom 13:1-2 Let every soul be subject to the governing authorities. For there is no authority except from God, and the authorities that exist are appointed by God. Therefore whoever resists the authority resists the ordinance of God, and those who resist will bring judgment on themselves.

Christians belong to a kingdom that is not of this world. Until the kingdoms of this world becomes God’s kingdom, we are instructed by Jesus and Apostles to follow Christian Communism by sharing our wealth with poor, not by force but willingly and obey any government or authority of the land they live in.We are called to be ambassadors of God’s Kingdom whereever we live except without diplomatic immunity.

Democracy

A government that is ruled by the people where rulers are usually elected is called democracy. This sounds great for people because they can choose their own leaders now. What does the Bible say about democracy?

Gen 11:4 And they said, "Come, let us build ourselves a city, and a tower whose top is in the heavens; let us make a name for ourselves, lest we be scattered abroad over the face of the whole earth."

The people said to themselves: Let us:

1. Build ourselves a city

2. Build a tower whose top is in heavens

3. Make a name for ourselves

What exactly did God commanded Noah?

Gen 9:1 So God blessed Noah and his sons, and said to them: "Be fruitful and multiply, and fill the earth.

Instead of filling the earth, (Noah’s descendants) the people wanted to be gathered together for making a name for themselves, breaking the first commandment given to Noah and his sons after the flood.

Exod 32:1 Now when the people saw that Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people gathered together to Aaron, and said to him, "Come, make us gods that shall go before us; for as for this Moses, the man who brought us up out of the land of Egypt, we do not know what has become of him."

When Moses delayed coming down from the mountain, the people made a golden calf as a god for themselves, rejecting the one true God of Israel.

Mark 15:11-13,15 But the chief priests stirred up the crowd, so that he should rather release Barabbas to them. Pilate answered and said to them again, What then do you want me to do with Him whom you call the King of the Jews? So they cried out again, "Crucify Him!" … So Pilate, wanting to gratify the crowd, released Barabbas to them; and he delivered Jesus, after he had scourged Him, to be crucified.

Pilate crucified Jesus Christ not because of the Jewish priests but to satisfy the crowd, a decision by the people.

 Democracy is for the people just like the people in Babel who to build a city for themselves, a tower and create a name for themselves, being together ignoring God’s commands.

 Democracy is by the people just like the ancient Israelites who created a golden calf as a god for themselves.

 Democracy is of the people who are ready to even reject their own savior and Messiah.

Democracy is acceptable only when most of the nation is godly and following God’s commandments and they would elect a godly person. No one can expect a ruler like King David being elected from the land of Sodom.

Jude 1:4 For certain men have crept in unnoticed, who long ago were marked out for this condemnation, ungodly men, who turn the grace of our God into lewdness and deny the only Lord God and our Lord Jesus Christ.

There is no democracy anywhere within Christianity. These some men are actively using democracy in several denominations to introduce abominations, converting the grace of God to lewdness (or license to sin), calling themselves as Christians while denying Him in their life.

Conclusion

The time of theocracy in the history of Israel is when God Himself was the King of Israel. It was also the period of Judges when people did what was right in their own eyes. This is because, while God was their King and had already given rules to follow, there was no godly king who can rule them over to guide them like a human king would do. Hence, God Himself came down in flesh to be that King to save His people. He promised a new Kingdom where we are called to be ambassadors of God while living in this world under the authority of the rulers of the land but without diplomatic immunity. While we live as ambassadors of Him in this word, we are called to be Christian communists, sharing our wealth with the poor and taking care of each other. Democracy is for the people, by the people and of the people, where people will take care of themselves which had never been good in the Bible. For by Jesus Christ all things were created that are in heaven and that are on earth, visible and invisible, whether thrones or dominions or principalities or powers. All things were created through Him and for Him.

Understanding Pauline Differences to Christ’s Teachings

Acts 9:15-16 But the Lord said to him, Go, for he is a chosen vessel of Mine to bear My name before Gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel. For I will show him how many things he must suffer for My name’s sake.

Paul is a chosen vessel of Jesus Christ to bear His name before gentiles, kings, and the children of Israel.

John 4:21,23-24 Jesus said to her, Woman, believe Me, the hour is coming when you will neither on this mountain, nor in Jerusalem, worship the Father. ..But the hour is coming, and now is, when the true worshipers will worship the Father in spirit and truth; for the Father is seeking such to worship Him. God is Spirit, and those who worship Him must worship in spirit and truth.

Deut 12:13-14 "Take heed to yourself that you do not offer your burnt offerings in every place that you see; but in the place which the LORD chooses, in one of your tribes, there you shall offer your burnt offerings, and there you shall do all that I command you.

Exod 23:17 "Three times in the year all your males shall appear before the Lord GOD.

If it wasn’t by Paul, we may have end up following the law, which Jesus hinted about. For example, Jesus only hinted that true worshipers will cease worshiping in Jerusalem, which is a direct violation of the law.

Paul in his God given wisdom, had explained several things from Scriptures and opened the eyes of many. However, some Christians had taken Paul’s teachings to extreme even to exalt it as Scripture to reject Christ’s teachings as works salvation heresy. The other end of the spectrum consider Paul as a false teacher.

The rule of thumb is, any teaching or doctrine that is contrary to what Christ taught be thrown away. As said earlier, God used Paul mightily to expand His kingdom but Paul is not Christ nor his words equal to or supersedes Christ’s.

As Jesus said, there are weightier matters of the law (Matt 23:23). Father’s words will never return to Him void (Isa 55:11). Heavens and the earth pass away but the words spoken by Son will never pass away (Matt 24:35). This is why all parts of the Bible are not equal and do not have equal authority. It would be a mistake in our part to exalt a man’s letter which is not a prophecy nor spoken by God, to exalt it equal to God’s spoken words. It also does not mean we are to disregard the teachings of Paul. We need to discern everything using His Word and Scripture. E.g., Matthew Chapter 2 is wrong about birth of Jesus even though it was written in all good intentions. Do you think Ramah magically became an inheritance of Judah for Bethlehem (Matt 2:16-18; Jer 31:15-16), Did Christ came out of Egypt to sacrifice to Baal (Matt 2:14-15; Hos 11:1-2)? Did Christ fulfil a non-existing prophecy of Nazarene (Matt 2:23)? In this blog, we will look into the top 25 contractions between Paul and Jesus (from voiceofjesus.org/paulvsjesus.html) to discern them.

The green tick next to title shows that Christ agrees with Paul. The red cross mark shows Christ disagrees with Paul.

1. On the time of the coming of the Lord ✓

Paul says:

Rom.13:12 the night is far gone, the day is at hand.

Jesus says:

Luke.21:8 Take heed that you are not led astray; for many will come in my name,

saying, . . . `The time is at hand!’ Do not go after them.

Here, Paul is not referring to the time of the coming of the