What Are The Sabbaths In Colossians 2:16, 17 Shadows Of?

[Martinman]

MM, thanks for the reply.

I suppose I still don't see the relationship between your interpretation of the old covenant sabbaths and "the plan of salvation." It was this aspect of your presentation that I wanted to understand better.

BFA

Thanks for your question.


There is a short answer and a long answer. I would like to give both. I
should have time in a couple days to finish collecting some of the texts for the long answer, as I have not yet completed it. Right now here is the short answer.


SHORT ANSWER:


The “shadow” Sabbaths were prophetic. They were given to help pinpoint the precise and exact timing of many of the major events to take place for Christ's first advent and for His second advent. They had no other purpose whatsoever. Without these it would be an absolute impossibility to pinpoint the exact year of the events relating to His first and second advents. Please note that there was no type portraying the exact day and hour of the second advent, only the major events that relate to it.

I have one question for you--do you understand the feast day ceremonies to be rehearsals of events in the new covenant? How do you see these?

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Thanks for your question.


There is a short answer and a long answer. I would like to give both. I
should have time in a couple days to finish collecting some of the texts for the long answer, as I have not yet completed it. Right now here is the short answer.


SHORT ANSWER:


The “shadow” Sabbaths were prophetic. They were given to help pinpoint the precise and exact timing of many of the major events to take place for Christ's first advent and for His second advent. They had no other purpose whatsoever. Without these it would be an absolute impossibility to pinpoint the exact year of the events relating to His first and second advents. Please note that there was no type portraying the exact day and hour of the second advent, only the major events that relate to it.

I have one question for you--do you understand the feast day ceremonies to be rehearsals of events in the new covenant? How do you see these?

OK. Thanks for continuing the dialogue. I appreciate your reply to my question. I think I better understand where you're coming from.

In reply to your question, I've found no Biblical basis to distinguish between sabbaths or to refer to certain holy convocations as "feast day ceremonies" or "shadow sabbaths." Rather, I find ample evidence that God viewed the laws given to Israelites as one cohesive whole. Therefore, I view Leviticus 23 as one complete package and not divided groupings.

With that said, I would agree that all holy convocations pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Like the law as a whole, they were shadows that pointed to the reality. When the Seed came, He fulfilled just as He said He would.

BFA

 

[Martinman]

OK. Thanks for continuing the dialogue. I appreciate your reply to my question. I think I better understand where you're coming from.

In reply to your question, I've found no Biblical basis to distinguish between sabbaths or to refer to certain holy convocations as "feast day ceremonies" or "shadow sabbaths." Rather, I find ample evidence that God viewed the laws given to Israelites as one cohesive whole. Therefore, I view Leviticus 23 as one complete package and not divided groupings.

With that said, I would agree that all holy convocations pointed forward to Jesus Christ. Like the law as a whole, they were shadows that pointed to the reality. When the Seed came, He fulfilled just as He said He would.

BFA

Before I give the long answer to show the connection between the "shadow" Sabbaths and the plan of salvation, do you mind if we go back and forth with some questions, I would like to know more of how you see certain aspects just to form a basis for the points I would like to present.

Do you realize that the first feast listed in Leviticus 23 is the 7th-day Sabbath, and is called the "Sabbath of the Lord"--the same Sabbath that is referred to in Exodus 20:8-11, and part of the 10 commandments?

From these texts as well as, Leviticus 23:38, 39: "Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, ....on the first day [shall be] a sabbath, and on the eighth day [shall be] a sabbath.

Do you agree that there are 2 kinds of Sabbaths, speaking only of days, not of Sabbatical years, or weeks of Sabbatical years, etc.?

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Before I give the long answer to show the connection between the "shadow" Sabbaths and the plan of salvation, do you mind if we go back and forth with some questions,

Not at all. Two-way dialogue means a lot to me, even if we have different views.

Do you realize that the first feast listed in Leviticus 23 is the 7th-day Sabbath, and is called the "Sabbath of the Lord"

Yes. All holy convocations are referred to as "the Lord's" or "of the Lord." The seventh day sabbath is not unique in this regard.

--the same Sabbath that is referred to in Exodus 20:8-11, and part of the 10 commandments?

It's also mentioned in Exodus 34. Notice the company that it keeps.

And in Deuteronomy 5. Notice the stated purpose for which it was given.

From these texts as well as, Leviticus 23:38, 39: "Beside the sabbaths of the LORD, ....on the first day [shall be] a sabbath, and on the eighth day [shall be] a sabbath.

If verses 37 and 38 were intended to create a distinction between verses 1-3 and verses 4-44, wouldn't they come immediately after verse 3? Instead these verses come in the middle of a description of sabbaths that you view as being "shadow sabbaths."

Further, the distinction in verses 37 and 38 relates to offerings, not to the value or significance of each individual holy convocation:

"These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day's matter on its own day--besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD."
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Do you agree that there are 2 kinds of Sabbaths, speaking only of days, not of Sabbatical years, or weeks of Sabbatical years, etc.?

With respect to the shadowy nature of holy convocations, I find no distinction at all between sabbaths.

BFA

 

[Martinman]

By the way, the name you have chosen always impresses me--byfaithalone--because it really is, by true faith.

This is the evidence that I have seen. The old covenant had every detail of the new covenant. This old covenant system was the "rehearsal", or the schoolmaster, the teacher, of the new covenant. There was a distinction that God directed Moses to perform in the preservation of the two distinctly separate laws.

The 10-commandment law was the character of God, by which sin was defined originally. After God wrote it with His own finger, Moses was instructed to place the tables of stone inside of the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place, which was the second room of the old tabernacle. The ark of the covenant represented God. By these tables of stone written by God's finger being placed inside of the ark, Moses was to illustrate God's very character and nature which emanate from within Him. It is what He is. In a Scripture study of the characteristics of God, and the characteristics of the law, one finds that they are both described by the same adjectives--holy, just, perfect, good, etc.

"And he wrote on the tables, according to the first writing, the ten commandments, which the LORD spake unto you in the mount out of the midst of the fire in the day of the assembly: and the LORD gave them unto me."
"And I turned myself and came down from the mount, and put the tables in the ark which I had made; and there they be, as the LORD commanded me." Deuteronomy 10:4, 5

Incidentally, they are still there, safely hidden from human eyes, but in God's appointed time, in the judgment, He will bring forth these tables of stone and present them before the world. Please read 2 Machabees 2.
There the prophet, Jeremiah relates the history of how he hid the ark and the tables of stone, and describes the time when they will be brought forth again and presented to the world. It's very interesting!

Now, as the solution for the sin problem, God designed His plan of salvation, which was given in precise detail to Moses.

"Who serve unto the example and shadow of heavenly things, as Moses was admonished of God when he was about to make the tabernacle: for, See, saith he, [that] thou make all things according to the pattern showed to thee in the mount." Hebrews 8:5


He wrote all of these particulars in a book and placed them on the side of the ark.

"And it came to pass, when Moses had made an end of writing the words of this law in a book, until they were finished,
"That Moses commanded the Levites, which bare the ark of the covenant of the LORD, saying,
"Take this book of the law, and put it in the side of the ark of the covenant of the LORD your God, that it may be there for a witness against thee." Deuteronomy 31:24-26.

This law typified the solution for sin, rather than being the actual character of God, as were the 10 commandments.

In fact, God clearly stated His feelings about their observances of the feasts and the sacrifices, showing that these feasts were not part of His character, although many in Israel assumed that they had salvation in all the killing and slaughter of beasts.

"Your new moons and your appointed feasts my soul hateth: they are a trouble unto me; I am weary to bear [them]." Isaiah 1:4.


Now, back to the new covenant--

"But this [shall be] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
"And they shall teach no more every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the LORD: for they shall all know me, from the least of them unto the greatest of them, saith the LORD: for I will forgive their iniquity, and I will remember their sin no more." Jeremiah 31:33, 34.

This wonderful promise is exactly what the new covenant is all about.

"For this [is] the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
"And they shall not teach every man his neighbour, and every man his brother, saying, Know the Lord: for all shall know me, from the least to the greatest.
"For I will be merciful to their unrighteousness, and their sins and their iniquities will I remember no more.
"In that he saith, A new [covenant], he hath made the first old." Hebrews 8:10-13.


Although the old covenant was nailed to the cross, the prophet, Isaiah shows that the plan of salvation will still be remembered in the new heaven and the new earth by worshiping God on the new moon and on His glorious 7th-day Sabbath.

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
"And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." Isaiah 66:22, 23.

 

[AzA]

"For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
"And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD." Isaiah 66:22, 23.

Wait -- don't stop there.

And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests [and] for Levites, saith the LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

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[Martinman]

These are the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, each day's matter on its own day--besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD, and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD."

With respect to the shadowy nature of holy convocations, I find no distinction at all between sabbaths.

BFA

Yes, the holy convocations are referred to as, "of the Lord" in Lev. 23:2, 37, yet in Lev. 23:3 where the 7th-day Sabbath is mentioned, the text says, "..it is the Sabbath of the Lord in all your dwellings." Reading through the remainder of Leviticus 23, one finds that the other days that are listed as "Sabbaths" are not referred to in this manner, as "the Sabbath of the Lord", rather they are specified differently, verse 24, "shall ye have a Sabbath," verse 32, "It shall be unto you a Sabbath", verse 39, "on the first day shall be a Sabbath and on the eighth day shall be a Sabbath."

With the Day of Atonement being the exception, all 11 of the other "shadow" Sabbaths have a different work restriction than the 7th-day Sabbath. On the 7th-day Sabbath absolutely no work of any kind was to be performed, while on the 11 "shadow Sabbaths" the restriction was only "no servile work" was to be done.

Regarding Exodus 34, verse 23 more or less distinguishes the annual feasts from the 7th-day Sabbath, showing the requirement of 3 times annually for all men to attend. Prophetically, this requirement would show the need of everyone of us to be a partaker in the whole plan of salvation, Passover and Unleavened Bread --accepting His death for our sins; Feast of Weeks--allowing the Holy Spirit's work in our life, the early rain; the Feast of Ingathering at the year's end--this season included the Day of Atonement, the day of judgment when the sins were blotted out of the record--which is the experience we all need to be "made white" Daniel 12:10, ready for the second coming. Peter, in Acts 3;19, preached, "Repent and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord, and He shall send Jesus..." The 7th-day Sabbath is shown to be in the weekly cycle in Exodus 34:21, as the 7th day, and that even in very necessary work conditions, earing time and harvest, it is still to be remembered and observed. It is differentiated from the annual system of ceremonies.


In Deuteronomy 5, if you are referring to the Israelites need to keep the commandments that their lives could be prolonged in the land that they were going to possess, than this would have tremendous meaning for all who profess to be God's children, spiritual Israel, children of Abraham by faith, all those who intend to enter the heavenly Canaan, of which the other Canaan was but a type. This would be a promise with a condition for those who have the hope of Abraham--he looked for a city, the heavenly Canaan.

Leviticus 23:37,38 that you quote is from a translation of the Bible that differs from the King James Version in that a word has been added that intentionally transfers the emphasis from the "Sabbaths" to the offerings.
You are seeing this verse according to your translation. You're interpreting it exactly how those who translated it intended that you should, so that you would be unable to arrive at the true meaning.
Please use your King James Version of the Bible and compare how the added word changes the whole emphasis and meaning of these verses.

I would not accept a deliberately corrupted version. Revelation 22:18, 19 make the warning very clear to anyone who adds or takes away from the words of the prophecy of this book.

 

[Martinman]

Wait -- don't stop there.

And they shall bring all your brethren for an offering unto the LORD out of all nations upon horses, and in chariots, and in litters, and upon mules, and upon swift beasts, to my holy mountain Jerusalem, saith the LORD, as the children of Israel bring an offering in a clean vessel into the house of the LORD. And I will also take of them for priests [and] for Levites, saith the LORD. For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain. And it shall come to pass, [that] from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD. And they shall go forth, and look upon the carcases of the men that have transgressed against me: for their worm shall not die, neither shall their fire be quenched; and they shall be an abhorring unto all flesh.

​

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Thank you for giving the entire verses that give the complete picture.

 

[Byfaithalone1]

By the way, the name you have chosen always impresses me--byfaithalone--because it really is, by true faith.

This is the evidence that I have seen. The old covenant had every detail of the new covenant. This old covenant system was the "rehearsal", or the schoolmaster, the teacher, of the new covenant.

And yet we know that the new covenant is not like the old.

The 10-commandment law was the character of God, by which sin was defined originally.

And yet the letters engraved on stones are the ministry that brings death.

After God wrote it with His own finger, Moses was instructed to place the tables of stone inside of the ark of the covenant in the Most Holy Place, which was the second room of the old tabernacle.

And yet these same words were also included in the writings that were placed beside the ark.

Although the old covenant was nailed to the cross, the prophet, Isaiah shows that the plan of salvation will still be remembered in the new heaven and the new earth by worshiping God on the new moon and on His glorious 7th-day Sabbath.

If we are to conclude this to be true, we must also conclude that we will observe in heaven those feasts that are based on the moon and that there will be dead bodies lying around in heaven. That's a problematic conclusion, indeed!

Yes, the holy convocations are referred to as, "of the Lord"

Exactly. In fact, all of the attributes of the weekly sabbath (per Leviticus 23) are also found in the other convocations.

Reading through the remainder of Leviticus 23, one finds that the other days that are listed as "Sabbaths" are not referred to in this manner, as "the Sabbath of the Lord"

I don't find this to be true:

"4'These are the (D)appointed times of the LORD, holy convocations which you shall proclaim at the times appointed for them."

5 In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight is the LORD'S Passover.

6'Then on the fifteenth day of the same month there is the (F)Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread.

37'These are (AE)the appointed times of the LORD which you shall proclaim as holy convocations, to present offerings by fire to the LORD--burnt offerings and grain offerings, sacrifices and drink offerings, (AF)each day's matter on its own day--

38besides those of the sabbaths of the LORD [plural, meaning there are more than one], and besides your gifts and besides all your votive and freewill offerings, which you give to the LORD.

39'On exactly the fifteenth day of the seventh month, (AG)when you have gathered in the crops of the land, you shall celebrate the feast of the LORD for seven days,

44So Moses declared to the sons of Israel (AJ)the appointed times of the LORD.
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Regarding Exodus 34, verse 23 more or less distinguishes the annual feasts from the 7th-day Sabbath, showing the requirement of 3 times annually for all men to attend.

Verse 23 makes no distinction. It merely says, "Three times a year all your males are to appear before the Lord GOD, the God of Israel." You seem to be reading things that aren't in the passage.

In Deuteronomy 5, if you are referring to the Israelites need to keep the commandments that their lives could be prolonged in the land that they were going to possess

No. I was referring to the fact that the sabbath was given to Israelites as a reminder of their exodus from Egypt.

What is the relevance? I find no reason to distinguish between old covenant laws. Jesus Christ indicated that He came to fulfill and that not a jot or tittle would pass until all was accomplished. Either all has been accomplished and all jots and tittles have passed, or all has not yet been accomplished and none of the jots and tittles have passed. I cannot conclude that I am to keep certain sabbaths of the Lord but that I need not keep all of them. They are a package deal.

BFA

 

[visionary]

I too have been impressed to study the subject, and for 24 years read anything and all things related to it.

Keep digging... I believe the Lord is behind this thirst for understanding on this subject.

 

[Martinman]

LONG ANSWER:


Because all of the feast days are based on the lunar cycle, they occurred on different days of the week every year. The purpose of the “shadow” Sabbaths dispersed among the feast days were to pinpoint the day of the week on which these feast days would occur in the year of their fulfillment.


To show the precision of the timing, in the fulfillment of the feast days, the Scriptures tell how the Messiah spoke in relation to the intricate timing because of His knowledge of it.


“Jesus came into Galilee, preaching the gospel of the kingdom of God, ...
And saying, The time is fulfilled, and the kingdom of God is at hand:“ Mark 1:15


“Then Jesus said unto them, My time is not yet come: but your time is alway ready...
Go ye up unto this feast: I go not up yet unto this feast: for my time is not yet full come. ” John 7:6, 8


The Messiah was watching the timing of the Passover feast. For in the year that the “shadow” Sabbath, the day after Passover, fell on the 7th-day Sabbath, that year would be the year of fulfillment, if it aligned in this manner in the middle of the first week of years of a Jubile cycle. See Daniel 9:27.


“And he said, Go into the city to such a man, and say unto him, The Master saith, My time is at hand; I will keep the passover at thy house with my disciples.“ Matthew 26:18.


After His resurrection in the new covenant, He spoke to His disciples of the specifications of the feast days from the old covenant. The Scriptures say, “Then opened he their understanding, that they might understand the scriptures, And said unto them, Thus it is written, and thus it behoved Christ to suffer, and to rise from the dead the third day: “ Luke 24:44, 45.


The third day that the Messiah spoke of is specified in Lev. 23:11 to come “on the morrow after the Sabbath the priest shall wave it.” In fulfillment this day fell on a Sunday—the morrow after the Sabbath, just as the scriptures prophesied it would be.


Paul wrote about God appointing certain days for the events in the plan of salvation:


“...and hath determined the times before appointed”,... Acts 17:26


“Because he hath appointed a day, in the which he will judge the world in righteousness by [that] man whom he hath ordained;“ Acts 17:31.


Looking back to the day when the Messiah began His 3 and ½ year ministry, by reading the Jubile prophecy of Isaiah 61:1, 2 on the Day of Atonement in the synagogue in the year of Jubile, 27 C.E., He perfectly and precisely fulfills the Jubile prophecy as the Day of Atonement fell on the 7th-day Sabbath that Jubile year. This was exactly as the type prophesied that it would be. After closing the scroll and handing it back to the minister, He declares in the hearing of all those attending, “This day is this Scripture fulfilled in your ears.” The Messiah did not complete the sentence He was reading in Isaiah 61. The second part of the sentence did not apply to that Day of Atonement in that Jubile year, but refers to the day of vengeance at the end of time which must also fall on a Day of Atonement of a Jubile year, and that future Day of Atonement must be a 7th-day Sabbath, as shown in the type.


Josephus, the first century Jewish historian lists 27 C.E. as a Jubilee year in his list of Jubilee years.
See Josephus Complete Works, Dissertation V, page 706.


3 and ½ years later, at the end of the Messiah's ministry, He fulfilled the spring feast days to the finest detail. Every “shadow” Sabbath in the spring feast days, all 8 of them, fell on 7th-day Sabbaths. The type was precisely fulfilled on the antitype.


The Messiah has already divinely interpreted for us the principles to be used to understand the timing of the fulfillment of the types relating to the second advent, by the manner in which He fulfilled the types relating to His first advent. Let us examine the implications for the fulfillment of the fall feasts.



1. The alignments of the “shadow Sabbaths with the 7th- day Sabbath

2 The fulfillment in the Sabbatical year when the fall feasts have designated ceremonies connected to the teaching of the law of God. (Deuteronomy 31:10-16)

3. That Sabbatical year must be the year preceding the Jubilee year because on the final Jubile the plan of salvation is culminated and all the slaves are freed. (Leviticus 25:8-10)


In the fulfillment of the types relating to the second advent, we will see the fulfillment of the prediction of the apostle Peter as he preached regarding the future blotting out of sin for those living on the earth at the end of time. (Acts 3:19) “Repent ye therefore, and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out, when the times of refreshing shall come from the presence of the Lord; And he shall send Jesus Christ, which before was preached unto you: “


All of the above evidence is necessary in discerning the nearness of the time. Without the knowledge of the purpose of the “shadow” Sabbaths, it would be impossible to recognize the genuine “midnight cry”, “Behold, the Bridegroom cometh, go ye out to meet Him.” In the parable all 10 of the sleeping virgins are awakened. They are awakened by a proclamation, a loud "cry", of irrefutable evidence that the time has come for the coming of the Bridegroom to the wedding.

This is not the second coming of the Messiah, but the marriage of the Bridegroom. The white robes which are the righteousness of Christ are required to be worn by all those in attendance.


We cannot discern the fulfillment of the types relating to the second advent if we do not utilize the above evidence. By a study of the perpetual Jewish calendar (Hebcal), one can do the research to understand the timing of that which is to come.

 

[Byfaithalone1]

Does the seventh day sabbath point forward, or does it only point backward?

BFA

 

[visionary]

Does the seventh day sabbath point forward, or does it only point backward?

BFA

or does it point in both?

 

[Byfaithalone1]

or does it point in both?

Excellent question, Visionary. This is how I currently view it.

BFA

 

[Martinman]

Does the seventh day sabbath point forward, or does it only point backward?

BFA

The 7th-day Sabbath is the sign that we recognize as Sovereign the God who made the world in six days and rested the seventh day. It is the sign of God's creative and redemptive power.

"Verily my sabbaths ye shall keep: for it [is] a sign between me and you throughout your generations; that [ye] may know that I [am] the LORD that doth sanctify you. Ye shall keep the sabbath therefore;" Exodus 31:14.

The 7th-day Sabbath is a test of our loyalty. It defines our allegiance, who we are serving.

It is only the "shadow Sabbaths" in the old covenant that pointed forward to certain specific 7th-day Sabbaths in the new covenant in the future. They were prophetic, while the 7th-day is not. The 7th-day Sabbath is not a "rehearsal", and it did not point to anything in the future, although it will exist for man through all eternity.

 

[Kira Light]

The 7th-day Sabbath is a test of our loyalty. It defines our allegiance, who we are serving.

Really? It does all that, huh? The billions of Christians who are on earth today, or have already passed on, they fail the test of loyalty? Their allegiance is not defined? Who they serve is in question because of what they did on Saturday?

 

[VictorC]

The 7th-day Sabbath is a test of our loyalty. It defines our allegiance, who we are serving.

You must be kidding.
This doesn't explain the temporal nature of the sabbath that was a mere shadow of God's eternal rest that we have entered into.
Your statement asserting a test of "loyalty" in the present tense cannot be reconciled with a component of law that was terminated nearly 2000 years ago.

Of a more serious concern is your notion of a "test of loyalty" that is obviously a condition for eternal life, and is a rejection of salvation by grace. You need to earn "salvation", impossible in light of God's conclusion that all are disobedient to the former covenant law (Romans 11:32). Romans 4:4 shows that a "test of loyalty" isn't an appeal to God's salvation: Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt..

Can anyone say "classic works-based soteriology"?
Sure you can.
It's a claim made by every cult deviant from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

 

[Martinman]

Really? It does all that, huh? The billions of Christians who are on earth today, or have already passed on, they fail the test of loyalty? Their allegiance is not defined? Who they serve is in question because of what they did on Saturday?

Your questions are all answered by the observances of the old covenant. That is why Paul called it the "schoolmaster". When we complete the courses in school, we are no longer under the "schoolmaster". Yet we continue to use the knowledge learned in the school lessons. You may not know that in the old covenant there was an offering for "sins of ignorance". All of us know who that offering represented. The Messiah's death covered known sins that were confessed, as well as, unknown sins (sins of ignorance).

"For he hath made him [to be] sin for us, who knew no sin; that we might be made the righteousness of God in him." 2 Corinthians 5:21

If we really believe that NOTHING can separate us from the love of God which is in Christ Jesus, then we already know the answers to these questions that you asked. We are saved entirely by grace, but shall we sin that grace may abound. You know the verses. Sin is defined by law, else where would be the knowledge of sin. No one would know what sin is. In the 10 commandments sin is well defined. But many Christians of the past and present did not and do not realize these truths.

Those who follow the footsteps of the Messiah, will continue to grow in truth. Jesus said, "My sheep hear my voice..." God knows those who are following in the Messiah's footsteps, and who are fakes. We don't have to be the judge, as He is very capable of knowing the heart. God is love and God is just. He definitely knows who are in rebellion with Satan and those who are not walking in truth because they have not had opportunity to know it.

There is a verse of Scripture that shows that some will be in Paradise who do not even know what the Messiah has done to save us. How did they get there? We might wonder. They followed the truth and knowledge that they had, but had no further opportunity to know the wonderful plan that God designed for man's salvation.

"And [one] shall say unto him, What [are] these wounds in thine hands? Then he shall answer, [Those] with which I was wounded [in] the house of my friends." Zechariah 13:6.

 

[Martinman]

You must be kidding.
This doesn't explain the temporal nature of the sabbath that was a mere shadow of God's eternal rest that we have entered into.
Your statement asserting a test of "loyalty" in the present tense cannot be reconciled with a component of law that was terminated nearly 2000 years ago.

Of a more serious concern is your notion of a "test of loyalty" that is obviously a condition for eternal life, and is a rejection of salvation by grace. You need to earn "salvation", impossible in light of God's conclusion that all are disobedient to the former covenant law (Romans 11:32). Romans 4:4 shows that a "test of loyalty" isn't an appeal to God's salvation: Now to him who works, the wages are not counted as grace but as debt..

Can anyone say "classic works-based soteriology"?
Sure you can.
It's a claim made by every cult deviant from the Gospel of Jesus Christ.

As religious liberty becomes more and more restricted in this great country, the US of A, we will see that the day of worship will be very connected to who receives our worship.

When the "music" plays, then all who worship the "image of the beast" will bow down. Those who make God their strength and allegiance will be like the boys in the furnace, one will be walking with them who has the appearance of the Son of God.

This story is a prophecy. May we all make the choice as did the three faithful Hebrews. What a reward for those who are faithful!! Don't you agree?

 

[VictorC]

As religious liberty becomes more and more restricted in this great country, the US of A, we will see that the day of worship will be very connected to who receives our worship.

When the "music" plays, then all who worship the "image of the beast" will bow down. Those who make God their strength and allegiance will be like the boys in the furnace, one will be walking with them who has the appearance of the Son of God.

This story is a prophecy. May we all make the choice as did the three faithful Hebrews. What a reward for those who are faithful!! Don't you agree?

How is it possible to agree with a fable that has no basis in Scripture?

I am concerned that you don't place your faith in our Redeemer. Instead, you placed your faith in a "test of loyalty" that you haven't found support for. You also ignore how we have obtained mercy when God concluded all disobedient, and a litmus test based on compliance to an ordinance God concluded the recipients disobedient to is impossible to reconcile with Scripture.