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Symbols increase and Shadows decrease?

maco

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God makes a distinction and a separation between the seventh day Sabbath of creation and all the other sabbaths that came after creation.

Leviticus 23 The Lord said to Moses, “Give the following instructions to the people of Israel. These are the Lord’s appointed festivals, which you are to proclaim as official days for holy assembly. “You have six days each week for your ordinary work, but the seventh day is a Sabbath day of complete rest, an official day for holy assembly. It is the Lord’s Sabbath day, and it must be observed wherever you live. “In addition to the Sabbath, these are the Lord’s appointed festivals, the official days for holy assembly that are to be celebrated at their proper times each year.


The seventh day Sabbath is not a shadow, but rather, it's a memorial. A shadow points forward and a memorial points backwards.

The seventh day was created and blessed as part of creation and is locked within time itself, the shadows came hundreds of years later.

God protected the sacredness of seventh day with a Law punishable by death. This was not so with the shadows.

The seventh day Sabbath was made for man, the shadows were made because of sin.

Jesus is Lord of the seventh day Sabbath but He is the substance of the shadows. Jesus can't be Lord of something that does not exist.

A shadow loses it's value when you finally see what is casting the shadow.

A symbol, on the other hand, gains more value when it's equated with something bigger. Marriage becomes more valuable and more sacred when we see how God symbolically equates our relationship with Him as a marriage between a husband and wife. The seventh day Sabbath gains more value and becomes more important to protect when we see how God symbolically equates the seventh day with the coming kingdom and the rest we have in the finished work even in the midst of a chaotic and sinful world.

When we keep the seventh day holy we are standing on the promises of God and are testifying and looking forward to the great hope that is yet to come. When we honor God, through our expressions of faith, we are bearing witness to the fact that God is still on the throne of our heart.


 
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AndrewK788

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I agree with everything you've said here, and I think it's important that we make the distinction between the appointed feasts and the weekly Sabbath. However, could the Sabbath not be both a memorial and a shadow? I'm asking specifically in context of Hebrews 4. In that context it certainly seem the weekly Sabbath is being used as a shadow of salvation and the rest that comes therein. I agree the Sabbath is a memorial--absolutely! I just think that it goes beyond this as well perhaps.
 
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maco

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I think there is a difference between a shadow and a symbol. A shadow really has no importance once you learn what is making the shadow. A symbol can be used to authenticate our allegiance, as well as, represent a more greater reality within experiencing that reality. The seventh day Sabbath is defiantly a memorial of creation but I believe it's also a symbol of our loyalty and love. The Sabbath is a reflection of our relationship with God whereas the shadows were more an act of self preservation. In the millennium we will still keep the Sabbath even while experiencing the greater reality.
 
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AndrewK788

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Good explanation. I think I just misunderstood part of your initial post.
 
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maco

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Good explanation. I think I just misunderstood part of your initial post.

Thanks...

A lot of people will say that we should worship God seven days a week, not only on the seventh day. This is true but what they fail to understand is that remembering the seventh day by keeping it holy is, in itself, an act of worship.
 
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