All the other commandments we can pretend to follow, but the Sabbath stands out, it is a sign, the standard of God. Where he draws his battle line, the true believers put on the armor and choose God, the decieved put on the "traditions" of men and the false doctrines of the evil one who raises his banner of Baal's day of worship , and pagan sun worship.
The Sabbath cannot be hidden under a bushel, you can hide your idols, swear against God out of hearing of others and love other gods such as sex, money, fame... and no one would know. But like Daniel praying at his window for all to see the Sabbath is a clear display of our love for God when we worship him.
So the battle lines are forming, the banner is raised, whose side will you be on. Dont be decieved....
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 NKJV
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Revelation 14:9-10 The Bible clearly says that those who worship the beast, and its very clear what that entails, will be lost.
Here is a excellent description of the Biblical Sabbath by Ángel Manuel Rodríguez:
"The Adventist view of the Sabbath commandment as designating the seventh day as a day of rest required by God for fellowship and communion with Him is based on the facts that according to the Bible it originated during creation week. It was observed by Jesus and the apostles and there is no evidence in the biblical text to support the claim that the commandment was transferred from the seventh day to the first day of the week.
http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/rest_restlessness/
The Sabbath cannot be hidden under a bushel, you can hide your idols, swear against God out of hearing of others and love other gods such as sex, money, fame... and no one would know. But like Daniel praying at his window for all to see the Sabbath is a clear display of our love for God when we worship him.
So the battle lines are forming, the banner is raised, whose side will you be on. Dont be decieved....
Now the Spirit expressly says that in latter times, some will depart from the faith, giving heed to deceiving spirits and doctrines of demons. 1 Timothy 4:1 NKJV
And the third angel followed them, saying with a loud voice, If any man worship the beast and his image, and receive his mark in his forehead, or in his hand,
The same shall drink of the wine of the wrath of God, which is poured out without mixture into the cup of his indignation; and he shall be tormented with fire and brimstone in the presence of the holy angels, and in the presence of the Lamb:" Revelation 14:9-10 The Bible clearly says that those who worship the beast, and its very clear what that entails, will be lost.
Here is a excellent description of the Biblical Sabbath by Ángel Manuel Rodríguez:
"The Adventist view of the Sabbath commandment as designating the seventh day as a day of rest required by God for fellowship and communion with Him is based on the facts that according to the Bible it originated during creation week. It was observed by Jesus and the apostles and there is no evidence in the biblical text to support the claim that the commandment was transferred from the seventh day to the first day of the week.
A.Gen 2:1-3 and the Sabbath
According to the biblical creation narrative the Sabbath originated at the end of creation week as an expression of the divine will (Gen 2:1-3). It is common among Protestants to argue that Gen 2:1-3 does not contain a commandment addressed to humans but that it simply describes what God did on the seventh day. The argument is that the Sabbath as a commandment was given to the Israelites through the covenant; it is a Jewish law. Here we agree with Dies Domini: "If the first page of the Book of Genesis presents God's 'work' as an example for man, the same is true of God's 'rest.'"[3] That conclusion can be supported on several different grounds.
1.Humans as the Image of God and the Sabbath
The creation narrative describes humans as unique intelligent creatures within a world brought into existence by God. That singularity is located in the fact that they were created in the image of God (1:27). They were to reflect the actions of God, the character of God and to represent Him within the rest of creation. The idea that God rested from His works ascribes to God a human need in order to demonstrate to humans how He planned to supply it for them.[4] The anthropomorphic language clearly points to God's concern for humans who do not only need to work but also to separate a particular time to enjoy deep personal communion with the Creator. The divine action-God's rest-reveals His willingness to join humans in fellowship during the seventh day. It is the Creator, not the creature, who determines the time of rest.
Adventist theologian Hans K. LaRondelle stated, "Without the divine communion and fellowship on the seventh day, without man's entering into God's rest on that day, the whole creation would be cut off from its Maker and necessarily have to find its purpose and sense in itself. Then God's rest indeed would rather be the cryptic indication of God's return to the aseity (the absolute self-existence) of the inner glory of His being and existence, leaving man and the world to themselves." He adds, "God's rest then means His ceasing the work of creation in order to be free for the fellowship with man, the object of his love, for the rejoicing and celebration of His completed work together with his son on earth, the imago Dei, his festive partner."[5]
2.God Blessed the Sabbath
In the creation narrative God is described as blessing the seventh day. That probably means, as suggested by the use of the same verb in Exod 20:11, that "through it he [God] mediates the divine blessing to the person who keeps it."[6] The blessing itself is undefined and that has led some to conclude that what defines it is the next verb in the sentence, God "sanctified it."[7] That is to say, the blessing is to be understood in terms of holiness in the sense of separation and election.[8] But the combination of the two verbs found in the text is unique in the Old Testament and unless there are very compelling reasons to consider them to be synonyms it is better to keep them apart as expressing two different actions.[9] If the verb "to bless" (brk) expresses the basic idea of bestowing benefits upon something or someone,[10] then when God blessed the Sabbath He bestowed it with benefits that would be enjoyed by those who will keep it. A day that is not blessed is a day deprived of positive content for human beings (Jer 20:14).[11] The blessing pronounced by God on the seventh day was not for the benefit of God but for those who where present with Him, enjoying communion and fellowship with him, within the fraction of time called seventh day.
3.God Declared Holy the Seventh Day
The declaration of the seventh day as holy time is intriguing. The Bible contains rituals for the sanctification of persons, things and places but there is no ritual prescribed for the sanctification of the Sabbath. Only the creation story informs us that its holiness is the result of a divine declaration. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament the holiness of that day is presupposed. For the Old Testament writers as well as for the people of God the creation Sabbath was the same as the seventh day Sabbath mentioned in the commandment. Humans did not declare that day holy but they were responsible to keep it holy, to preserve its holiness, by obeying the commandment. That particular day participates in a unique way of the holiness of God because He rested on it and endowed it with holiness.
The holiness of the Sabbath is not described in the text as a provisional status that was to wear out at the end of the day. There is no de-sanctification ritual for the seventh day declared holy by God during creation week. By sanctifying it God placed it permanently apart for a particular religious use. Since according to the creation narrative Adam and Eve had been created on the sixth day, they experienced the holiness of the seventh day with God. When the Creator made the seventh day holy by separating it from the six workdays He "provided a gift for the whole of mankind for all time. The person who keeps the seventh-day Sabbath holy follows the Exemplar's archetypal pattern (Gen. 2:3) and meets with Him on that day of rest."[12] It is important to emphasize that "the seventh day is the very first thing to be hallowed in Scripture, to acquire that special status that properly belongs to God alone. In this way Genesis emphasizes the sacredness of the Sabbath. Coupled with the threefold reference to God resting from all his work on that day, these verses give the clearest of hints of how man created in the divine image should conduct himself on the seventh day."[13] ..."
According to the biblical creation narrative the Sabbath originated at the end of creation week as an expression of the divine will (Gen 2:1-3). It is common among Protestants to argue that Gen 2:1-3 does not contain a commandment addressed to humans but that it simply describes what God did on the seventh day. The argument is that the Sabbath as a commandment was given to the Israelites through the covenant; it is a Jewish law. Here we agree with Dies Domini: "If the first page of the Book of Genesis presents God's 'work' as an example for man, the same is true of God's 'rest.'"[3] That conclusion can be supported on several different grounds.
1.Humans as the Image of God and the Sabbath
The creation narrative describes humans as unique intelligent creatures within a world brought into existence by God. That singularity is located in the fact that they were created in the image of God (1:27). They were to reflect the actions of God, the character of God and to represent Him within the rest of creation. The idea that God rested from His works ascribes to God a human need in order to demonstrate to humans how He planned to supply it for them.[4] The anthropomorphic language clearly points to God's concern for humans who do not only need to work but also to separate a particular time to enjoy deep personal communion with the Creator. The divine action-God's rest-reveals His willingness to join humans in fellowship during the seventh day. It is the Creator, not the creature, who determines the time of rest.
Adventist theologian Hans K. LaRondelle stated, "Without the divine communion and fellowship on the seventh day, without man's entering into God's rest on that day, the whole creation would be cut off from its Maker and necessarily have to find its purpose and sense in itself. Then God's rest indeed would rather be the cryptic indication of God's return to the aseity (the absolute self-existence) of the inner glory of His being and existence, leaving man and the world to themselves." He adds, "God's rest then means His ceasing the work of creation in order to be free for the fellowship with man, the object of his love, for the rejoicing and celebration of His completed work together with his son on earth, the imago Dei, his festive partner."[5]
2.God Blessed the Sabbath
In the creation narrative God is described as blessing the seventh day. That probably means, as suggested by the use of the same verb in Exod 20:11, that "through it he [God] mediates the divine blessing to the person who keeps it."[6] The blessing itself is undefined and that has led some to conclude that what defines it is the next verb in the sentence, God "sanctified it."[7] That is to say, the blessing is to be understood in terms of holiness in the sense of separation and election.[8] But the combination of the two verbs found in the text is unique in the Old Testament and unless there are very compelling reasons to consider them to be synonyms it is better to keep them apart as expressing two different actions.[9] If the verb "to bless" (brk) expresses the basic idea of bestowing benefits upon something or someone,[10] then when God blessed the Sabbath He bestowed it with benefits that would be enjoyed by those who will keep it. A day that is not blessed is a day deprived of positive content for human beings (Jer 20:14).[11] The blessing pronounced by God on the seventh day was not for the benefit of God but for those who where present with Him, enjoying communion and fellowship with him, within the fraction of time called seventh day.
3.God Declared Holy the Seventh Day
The declaration of the seventh day as holy time is intriguing. The Bible contains rituals for the sanctification of persons, things and places but there is no ritual prescribed for the sanctification of the Sabbath. Only the creation story informs us that its holiness is the result of a divine declaration. Throughout the rest of the Old Testament the holiness of that day is presupposed. For the Old Testament writers as well as for the people of God the creation Sabbath was the same as the seventh day Sabbath mentioned in the commandment. Humans did not declare that day holy but they were responsible to keep it holy, to preserve its holiness, by obeying the commandment. That particular day participates in a unique way of the holiness of God because He rested on it and endowed it with holiness.
The holiness of the Sabbath is not described in the text as a provisional status that was to wear out at the end of the day. There is no de-sanctification ritual for the seventh day declared holy by God during creation week. By sanctifying it God placed it permanently apart for a particular religious use. Since according to the creation narrative Adam and Eve had been created on the sixth day, they experienced the holiness of the seventh day with God. When the Creator made the seventh day holy by separating it from the six workdays He "provided a gift for the whole of mankind for all time. The person who keeps the seventh-day Sabbath holy follows the Exemplar's archetypal pattern (Gen. 2:3) and meets with Him on that day of rest."[12] It is important to emphasize that "the seventh day is the very first thing to be hallowed in Scripture, to acquire that special status that properly belongs to God alone. In this way Genesis emphasizes the sacredness of the Sabbath. Coupled with the threefold reference to God resting from all his work on that day, these verses give the clearest of hints of how man created in the divine image should conduct himself on the seventh day."[13] ..."
http://www.biblicalperspectives.com/books/rest_restlessness/
