The seven-day Sabbath is closely tied to God's divine plan for rest and His eternal presence with His people, and this connection can be seen when considering the millennial kingdom. The Sabbath, given to Israel as a sign of God's sanctification and rest, foreshadows a time when God's people will experience ultimate rest in His presence. Just as the seventh day was sanctified by God after the work of creation, the coming millennium will be a time when the entire earth enters into a type of rest that points to God's final kingdom, where His people will dwell with Him forever in perfect peace and holiness.
just as God rested on the seventh day after completing His work, the final thousand years, known as the Millennial Kingdom, will be a time of rest and peace for God's people, where Christ reigns on Earth.
Psalm 90:4 says, "For a thousand years in Your sight are like yesterday when it is past, and like a watch in the night." (NKJV), and 2 Peter 3:8 says, "But, beloved, do not forget this one thing, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day." (NKJV).
These verses suggest that the six days of creation may symbolize six millennia of history, with the seventh day representing the Millennial Kingdom, a time of rest for God's people in the presence of Christ.
In the Old Testament, God commanded His people to observe the Sabbath as a sign of the covenant between them and Him. The seventh day was not just for physical rest, but a reminder that God sanctified that day, making it holy.
“Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy. Six days you shall labor and do all your work, but the seventh day is the Sabbath of the Lord your God. In it you shall do no work: you, nor your son, nor your daughter, nor your male servant, nor your female servant, nor your cattle, nor your stranger who is within your gates. For in six days the Lord made the heavens and the earth, the sea, and all that is in them, and rested the seventh day. Therefore the Lord blessed the Sabbath day and hallowed it” (Exodus 20:8-11 NKJV).
This day of rest was intended to remind Israel of the Creator’s rest after the work of creation and to set them apart as His holy people.However, this rest was also prophetic, pointing forward to a future rest that would be realized in the kingdom of God.
The Sabbath was more than just a physical rest; it was symbolic of the ultimate rest God's people would experience in His presence. The prophet Isaiah speaks of this rest, linking the idea of the Sabbath with the coming peace and holiness of God's kingdom.
"For as the new heavens and the new earth which I will make shall remain before Me, says the Lord, so shall your descendants and your name remain. And it shall come to pass that from one New Moon to another, and from one Sabbath to another, all flesh shall come to worship before Me, says the Lord” (Isaiah 66:22-23 NKJV).
This verse envisions a time in the future, during the New Heavens and New Earth, when all nations will come before the Lord, worshiping Him continually, including the observance of the Sabbath as part of their eternal worship.
In the
book of Revelation, we see a further fulfillment of the concept of God's presence and rest. The
Millennial Kingdom is described as a time when Christ reigns on the earth, and His people are gathered in His presence for a thousand years. This period of peace and prosperity is often seen as a foretaste of the eternal rest and communion with God that His people will experience after the final judgment.
“Then I saw a new heaven and a new earth, for the first heaven and the first earth had passed away. Also there was no more sea. Then I, John, saw the holy city, New Jerusalem, coming down out of heaven from God, prepared as a bride adorned for her husband” (Revelation 21:1-2 NKJV).
This is the ultimate realization of the Sabbath rest, The New Jerusalem, where God will dwell with His people forever.
As the
Millennial Kingdom transitions into the eternal state, the Sabbath rest is fulfilled in the presence of God as the ultimate rest in God’s presence is realized. The book of Revelation describes how God's people will be with Him forever, enjoying perfect rest and fellowship.
“And I heard a loud voice from heaven saying, 'Behold, the tabernacle of God is with men, and He will dwell with them, and they shall be His people. God Himself will be with them and be their God. And God will wipe away every tear from their eyes; there shall be no more death, nor sorrow, nor crying. There shall be no more pain, for the former things have passed away'” (Revelation 21:3-4 NKJV).
This is the ultimate Sabbath, the eternal rest that the seventh day pointed to—the time when God's people will dwell in His presence forever, no longer burdened by the toil of this life, but fully at peace with God.
In the Millennial Kingdom and the New Heavens and New Earth, God's people will experience the fullness of rest and sanctification. Just as the Sabbath was a sign of sanctification for Israel, it will find its ultimate fulfillment when all of God's people enter into the perfect rest of the Kingdom. The Sabbath, as a weekly reminder of God's holiness, will give way to the eternal reality of His presence, when we will rest in His glory forever, worshipping Him without end.
“And they shall see His face, and His name shall be on their foreheads. There shall be no night there: They need no lamp nor light of the sun, for the Lord God gives them light. And they shall reign forever and ever” (Revelation 22:4-5 NKJV).
The writer of Hebrews offers a profound perspective on this concept of rest, emphasizing that there remains a special kind of rest for the people of God, a rest that reflects the ultimate Sabbath.
“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” (Hebrews 4:9-10 NKJV).
This passage underscores that the rest spoken of is not just a physical cessation of work, but a spiritual rest, where believers cease from their own works, trusting in God’s finished work, much like God rested from His creation work. This rest is a foretaste of the perfect peace and fellowship with God that will be fully realized in the millennial kingdom and beyond.
The Sabbath, which began as a weekly observance in the Old Testament, points forward to the ultimate rest that believers will experience in the presence of God. It is a sign of the greater reality of God's Kingdom, where we will be in His presence, resting and reigning with Him forever, the fulfillment of the rest and sanctification that the Sabbath symbolized.