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Without the New
Covenant, there is no Gospel message, no
Christianity, no salvation, no inclusion of
Gentiles in God's promises. Without the New
Covenant, the Jews would still be bound by
the Old Covenant law, having to make animal
sacrifices for the covering of their sins,
and we, as Gentiles, would remain in
darkness.
This is what
Ellen G. White said about the New Testament
and the command to keep the Sabbath.
...
Ellen G. White admitted that there is
NOTHING in the NEW TESTAMENT commanding us
to keep the SABBATH.
"The New
Testament does not re-enact the law of the
tithe, as it does not that of the Sabbath;
for the validity of both is assumed. —The
Faith I Live By, page 244. Taken from the
Review & Herald, May 16, 1882 par. 29.
[1]
So when Seventh-day Adventists quote the
gospels as
proof of New Covenant Sabbath-keeping, they are going
against their own prophet's interpretation.
This is what Ellen G. White said
about the Sabbath rest in Hebrews 4.
After quoting Heb. 4:9, 11, Ellen White
says: "The rest here spoken of is the rest
of grace, obtained by following the
prescription, Labor diligently. . . . Those
who are unwilling to give the Lord faithful,
earnest, loving service will not find
spiritual rest in this life or in the life
to come. Only from earnest labor comes peace
and joy in the Holy Spirit happiness on
earth and glory hereafter." —The SDA Bible
Commentary, Ellen G. White Comments, on Heb. 4:9, 11, p. 928.
2
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Entire Quote:
"The Rest Obtained by Labor - (Hebrews 4:9, 11). The rest here spoken of is the rest
of grace, obtained by following the
prescription, Labor diligently. Those who
learn of Jesus His meekness and lowliness
find rest in the experience of practicing
His lessons. It is not in indolence, in
selfish ease and pleasure-seeking, that rest
is obtained. Those who are unwilling to give
the Lord faithful, earnest, loving service
will not find spiritual rest in this life or
in the life to come. Only from earnest labor
comes peace and joy in the Holy
Spirit—happiness on earth and glory
hereafter.
Let us therefore labor. Speak
often words that will be a strength and an
inspiration to those who hear. We are
altogether too indifferent in regard to one
another. We forget that our fellow laborers
are often in need of words of hope and
cheer. When one is in trouble, call upon him
and speak comforting words to him. This is
true friendship." (Manuscript 42, 1901)
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From
Ministry Magazine:
This is a very honest
article on Seventh-day Adventist
interpretation of Hebrews 3-4.
"Before attempting to describe the "rest"
of Hebrews 4:9, we must ask: (1) To whom is
the rest available? And (2) how is it
entered?
From the general argument of
the book of Hebrews and also from such texts
as Galatians 3:26-29, it becomes clear that
the wandering people of God since the cross
are no longer the Jewish nation exclusively,
but all those who are Christ's. Hebrews 4:9,
R.S.V., declares that the rest remains "for
the people of God," and verse 10 adds
"whoever enters," indicating the rest is
available to anyone who accepts Christ and
the rest He offers.
How does one
enter this rest? Hebrews 4:3, R.S.V., says,
"For we who have believed enter that rest."
The word faith (pistis) appears repeatedly
in these verses and is clearly the criterion
for entering God's rest. Faith and unbelief,
obedience and disobedience, form a continual
contrast in the context of Hebrews 3-4.
"Whoever enters God's rest also ceases from
his labors as God did from his" (Heb. 4:10,
R.S.V.). Faith, obedience, and ceasing from
our works as God does from His gives us the
key to unlock the meaning of the rest (sabbatismos)
in Heb. 4:9.
Throughout Hebrews 3 and
Hebrews 4 the author refers to the rest of God (katapausis)
as the goal to be entered. But in Heb. 4:9,
R.S.V., he uses a different word for rest.
"There remains a sabbath rest (sabbatismos)
for the people of God." This new word has
been interpreted in many different ways, of
which we will deal with only two.
One
interpretation sees sabbatismos, together
with the illustration from Genesis 2, as a
"proof text" for the necessity of observing
the seventh-day Sabbath in the New
Testament. According to this view, if God
didn't want the Sabbath kept after the
cross, "would he not afterward have spoken
of another day" (Heb. 4:8, K.J.V.)? This
interpretation is not consistent with the
context, the language, or the main point of
the author's argument.
A second
interpretation denies any implications
whatsoever concerning the seventh-day
Sabbath and sees sabbatismos totally inter
changeable with katapausis, both referring
only to the deeper rest of righteousness by
faith, which the Jews under Joshua failed to
enter. This argument also fails to consider
adequately the total context or to account
for the change from katapausis to
sabatismos,
a word possibly coined specifically for this
occasion, and that possibly has as its root
the Hebrew shabath ("sabbath"). Neither does
this interpretation take notice of the
symbolism of Genesis 2.
What then is
the "rest" of God? It is evident the rest
does not refer to an external observance of
the seventh-day Sabbath or merely to
entering the Promised Land. Joshua and the
Israelites did both and yet did not find the
true rest (Ne. 9:28). The only way to
understand the true rest is to follow our
author's illustration back to the first
Sabbath when God looked at His work of
Creation and said, "It is good." God then
blessed the day and rested. God did not
cease all activity; therefore, the rest man
enters is not one of idleness, but of proper
activities. In the context of Hebrews 3 and
Hebrews 4 the author points to Christ's rest after
His perfect work of Creation, and also to
His rest following the perfect work of His
human life, which is the basis for the
confidence man is to have. This reminds us,
incidentally, of Christ's cry, "It is
finished" (John 19:30), after His completed
work of re-creation just before He rested in
the tomb on the Sabbath.
Therefore,
in Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4 sabbatismos is the
author's term for man's entering into God's
katapausis. Sabbatismos of Hebrews 4:9 is
clearly not a proof text for Sabbath
observance, but obviously the author is
uniting the deeper rest experience, to which
God calls His people, with the symbol of
faith that God Himself instituted—the
Sabbath. Man is to enter by faith and
obedience into God's completed work for him.
His rest is not in his own accomplishments,
but in God's.
After quoting Heb. 4:9, 11, Ellen White says: "The rest here
spoken of is the rest of grace, obtained by
following the prescription, Labor
diligently. . . . Those who are unwilling to
give the Lord faithful, earnest, loving
service will not find spiritual rest in this
life or in the life to come. Only from
earnest labor comes peace and joy in the
Holy Spirit happiness on earth and glory
hereafter." —The SDA Bible Commentary, Ellen
G. White Comments, on Heb. 4:9, 11, p. 928.
2
Jesus said, "Come unto me, all ye
that labour and are heavy laden, and I will
give you rest" (Matt. 11:28). This is the
rest of Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4. The wandering
people of God enter today by faith into the
rest of grace, trusting Christ's completed
work for them. Then as they get into His
yoke they find, not idleness, but beautiful,
restful activity." [2]
Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4 are very clear
that the “rest” spoken of is the rest of “Today” right
now! Not the seventh-day Sabbath that the
Jews failed miserably to enter into time and
again. It is also not the rest of “entering
into the Promised land” promised to Israel
had they been faithful - but were not!
This is the eternal rest God offers
to each of us
from works that begins with and continues,
every moment of every day.
"The Israelites who were disobedient
under Moses did not reach the land or find
the rest that God promised them. The
Israelites who entered Canaan under Joshua
were those of the generation that followed.
However, long after the time of Joshua,
David repeated God's promise of rest. This
indicates that occupation of Canaan was not
the complete fulfillment of God's promise
(Hebrews 4:6-8) see Ps 95:7-8). The real rest that God
promises is salvation through faith. Just as
God rested after his work of creation, so
people will find true rest when they stop
working to try to earn salvation and trust
in what Christ has done for them (Hebrews 4:9-10) cf.
Matt 11:28).
People must make every
effort to remove unbelief and all other
hindrances to the enjoyment of God's rest.
To help them in this, God has given them the
Scriptures. His living Word penetrates into
the heart, separates the merely natural from
the truly spiritual, and exposes people as
they really are before God (Hebrews 4:11-13)."
[3] |
Ellen G White,
the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary,
and Ministry Magazine all agreed, the
Sabbath rest of Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4 is not the
weekly seventh-day Sabbath but the divine
rest of salvation, trusting in the finished
work of Jesus Christ.
Only in recent
years have the Seventh-day Adventists
tried to make Hebrews 4 into something that
it is not. They do this because they know
they have no command in the New Covenant to
keep the weekly, seventh-day Sabbath.
The author of the
article sums up his study of the biblical
text with this statement,
"While I no
longer see Hebrews 4:8-10 as a proof text
for the Sabbath, the message of Hebrews 4
has become laden with a deeper meaning for
the seventh-day Sabbath."
[4]
Hebrews 4 is speaking of an
entirely different kind of
Sabbath rest.
Hebrews 4:8-9, “For
if Joshua had given them rest, God would not
have spoken of another day later on. 9 So
then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the
people of God,”
Seventh-day Adventists
try desperately to make this about the
seventh-day and miss the point of the
passage altogether. The author is not saying
anywhere in the Book of Hebrews to keep the
seventh day.
The Sabbath rest of Hebrews 4 is NOT the
seventh day that the Jews entered into! It's
NOT the rest of the land inheritance that
the Jews entered into either.
Hebrews 4:7
says, "again he appoints a certain day,
“Today,” saying through David so long
afterward, in the words already quoted,
“Today, if you hear his voice, do not harden
your hearts.”
The rest spoken
of in
Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4 is a unit and has to
be understood together.
Entering God’s rest in Hebrews 3-4 makes it
clear that those who believe will enter
God’s rest. The idea is summarized in
Hebrews 4:9-11. The ‘rest’ of Hebrews 3 and
Hebrews 4 is clearly referring to our
entering into the Kingdom of God. The author
of Hebrews alludes to this type of rest. He
goes all the way back to the time of
creation and then to the time of the exodus.
This is the type of rest God has always
wanted for His people to enter
that comes from believing
in Him.
Hebrews 3:5-15, “Now Moses
was faithful in all God’s house as a
servant, to testify to the things that were
to be spoken later, 6 but Christ is faithful
over God’s house as a son. And we are his
house if indeed we hold fast our confidence
and our boasting in our hope. 7 Therefore,
as the Holy Spirit says, “Today, if you hear
his voice, 8 do not harden your hearts as in
the rebellion, on the day of testing in the
wilderness, 9 where your fathers put me to
the test and saw my works for forty years.
10 Therefore I was provoked with that
generation, and said, ‘They always go astray
in their heart; they have not known my
ways.’ 11 As I swore in my wrath, ‘They
shall not enter my rest.’” 12 Take care,
brothers, lest there be in any of you an
evil, unbelieving heart, leading you to fall
away from the living God. 13 But exhort one
another every day, as long as it is called
“today,” that none of you may be hardened by
the deceitfulness of sin. 14 For we have
come to share in Christ, if indeed we hold
our original confidence firm to the end. 15
As it is said, “Today, if you hear his
voice, do not harden your hearts as in the
rebellion.”
Hebrews 3:18-19, “And to
whom did he swear that they would not enter
his rest, but to those who were disobedient?
19 So we see that they were unable to enter
because of unbelief.”
Hebrews 4:1-3,
“Therefore, while the promise of entering
his rest still stands, let us fear lest any
of you should seem to have failed to reach
it. 2 For good news came to us just as to
them, but the message they heard did not
benefit them, because they were not united
by faith with those who listened. 3 For we
who have believed enter that rest, as he has
said, “As I swore in my wrath, ‘They shall
not enter my rest,’” although his works were
finished from the foundation of the world.”
Hebrews 4:6-10, “Since therefore it
remains for some to enter it, and those who
formerly received the good news failed to
enter because of disobedience, 7 again he
appoints a certain day, “Today,” saying
through David so long afterward, in the
words already quoted, “Today, if you hear
his voice, do not harden your hearts.” 8 For
if Joshua had given them rest, God would not
have spoken of another day later on. 9 So
then, there remains a Sabbath rest for the
people of God, 10 for whoever has entered
God’s rest has also rested from his works as
God did from his.”
The disobedience
that the writer mentions in Hebrews 3-4 is
the refusal to believe and trust God. The
refusal to believe his promise. It is the
sin of unbelief that the author is concerned
with.
Hebrews 4:11, “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest,
so that no one may fall by the same sort of
disobedience.
The seventh-day
Sabbath has nothing to do with salvation,
and nothing to do with the gospel of Jesus
Christ. It was never part of the message of
the New Testament church. The message is
always one of liberty, never one of
restrictions on a particular day of the
week. God accepts us because of Jesus Christ
and what He did for us, not because of
anything that we do. We are saved by grace,
not by works. We are to trust in Christ
completely for our salvation, Today.
We cannot live by Law and Grace! You must
live by one or the other. The Book of
Hebrews is in no way saying Christians are
required to keep the seventh-day Sabbath. We
are to rest in Jesus completely for our
salvation. His rest, is the rest of faith.
Matthew 11:28-30, “Come to me, all who
labor and are heavy laden, and I will give
you rest. 29 Take my yoke upon you, and
learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in
heart, and you will find rest for your
souls. 30 For my yoke is easy, and my burden
is light.”
John 3:36, “Whoever believes in the Son has eternal
life; whoever does not obey the Son shall
not see life, but the wrath of God remains
on him.
Jesus Christ is the rest
that God wants us to enter into, and we can
do that right now. We can do that today.
When you rest
in the eternal promise of salvation and a
transformed character you enter into the
Sabbath rest that God has always wanted for
us.
Hebrews 4:1-13
"Entering
God’s Rest. Continuing with his
exposition of Psalm 95, the author
focuses on the word “rest.” Although
some believe he has in view either
an entirely present or an entirely
future rest, the following section
makes most sense if the rest is
understood as already inaugurated
but awaiting consummation. He looks
primarily to the future, as
indicated by the need to continue
striving to enter this rest (Hebrews 4:1, 11, 14) and by the promise of a
cessation from the struggles of this
life (Hebrews 4:9-10). Yet there remains a
sense in which that future rest
touches the experience of this life
(hence “today,” Hebrews 4:7)."
[5] |
We have to wonder at the
Seventh-day Adventists who try to use the
Book of Hebrews to justify a weekly, seventh-day
Sabbath-keeping.
Ellen White, the Seventh-day Adventist
Bible Commentary, and their own Ministry
Magazine say that the rest of Hebrews 3 and 4
is the divine rest of salvation faith and
NOT the weekly seventh-day Sabbath.
If
you say Ellen G. White was wrong about how
she understood Hebrews 4 then you are saying
she was a false prophet and a false teacher.
References:
1. For more information see:
http://www.truthorfables.com/Renouncing_the_Sabbath.htm
2. See:
Ministry
Magazine: What Does Hebrews 4 Really Say?
3. From: Warning
against unbelief (Hebrews 3:7-4:13) Concise
Bible Commentary
4. See:
Ministry
Magazine: What Does Hebrews 4 Really Say?
5. From: The ESV
Study Bible (Hebrews 4)
See Also:
The Sabbath Rest of Hebrews 4:
Jesus was a Jew:
The Law of Christ
Colossians 2:14-17 and the Sabbath:
The Book of Colossians and the Christian’s
Record of Debt
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