The Sabbath in the Old and New Covenants

The Bible says God rested in Genesis 2. God was not saying he was tired or fatigued because he never wearies (Isaiah 40:28-29). God saw all that he had made and it was very good! His divine work of creation was complete so he alone rested in his finished work and took pleasure in its beauty. God blessed the seventh day of creation week and made it holy. He “sanctified it” because it commemorated the completion of his creative work. The creation was perfect and God blessed all that he had done that day.

Genesis 2:1-3 says, “Thus the heavens and the earth were finished, and all the host of them. And on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from all his work that he had done. So God blessed the seventh day and made it holy, because on it God rested from all his work that he had done in creation.”

There is no mention of Adam and Eve or anyone else in Genesis keeping a Sabbath rest. None of the early church fathers believed that Adam and Eve or any of the patriarchs kept a weekly Sabbath. There is no record of God giving the Sabbath as a commandment to anyone until he gave it to Israel after the exodus. The Sabbath was most likely not sanctified during the creation week, but is an example of “prolepsis”. Webster's Dictionary defines prolepsis as, “the representation of something in the future as if it already existed or had occurred." As an example, in Genesis 3:20, Adam called his wife's name “Eve, because she was the mother of all living” but this was said before the birth of their first child, Cain. [1] (prolepsis see: Appendix I)

Moses wrote the book of Genesis as a historical record for the new nation of Israel so they could know all that God had done for them leading up to their time in history. The new Sabbath rest God gave to Israel was about to become a ceremonial sign for the covenant He was about to make with them.

In fact, the Hebrew word for Sabbath (sabbat), that is used in the Ten Commandments is never found in the book of Genesis. No one before Moses was ever told to keep it. If they did, why are there no examples of anyone from Adam to Moses keeping it? The Patriarchs were given instructions regarding: being fruitful and increasing in number: Genesis 1:26-22; ruling over the earth: Genesis 1:28; diet: Genesis 1:29-30; 2:16-17; 9:1-4; marriage: Genesis 2:24; 34:9; offerings: Genesis 4:3-4; altars: Genesis 8:20; Priests: Genesis 14:18; paying a tithe: Genesis 14:20; and circumcision: Genesis 17:10, but nothing is said at all about the importance of keeping the seventh-day Sabbath rest holy. And, why is the Sabbath called a sign of Israel’s captivity and exodus from Egypt if the Patriarchs kept it (Exodus 16:6-7; 20:2; 31:13-18; Deuteronomy 5:12-15)? [2]

The Sabbath Was First Given As A Sign To Israel After Their Exodus!

The Sabbath was a "sign" between God and the Israelites alone.

Exodus 31:12-14, "And the LORD said to Moses, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you. You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people."

Ezekiel 20:12, 20, "Moreover, I gave them my Sabbaths, as a sign between me and them, that they might know that I am the LORD who sanctifies them…and keep my Sabbaths holy that they may be a sign between me and you, that you may know that I am the LORD your God."

If the Sabbath was for Gentiles and the patriarchs like Adam, Noah and Abraham, then why is the Sabbath called a sign for Israel to remind them of their captivity and exodus from Egypt? (Exodus 16:6-7; 20:2; 31:13-18; Deuteronomy 5:12-15). Was Abraham, or anyone alive today ever a slave in Egypt?

Deuteronomy 5:2-6, "The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today. The LORD spoke with you face to face at the mountain, out of the midst of the fire, while I stood between the LORD and you at that time, to declare to you the word of the LORD. For you were afraid because of the fire, and you did not go up into the mountain. He said: “I am the LORD your God, who brought you out of the land of Egypt, out of the house of slavery.”

How could Adam, Noah and Abraham keep the Sabbath commandment when Deuteronomy 5:2-4 says that the Ten Commandment covenant was not made “with any of the fathers” of Israel who lived before Moses.

The Bible is completely silent on the subject of the “Sabbath” until the time of the exodus. The first time the Hebrew word for Sabbath, (“Shabbat” i.e. resting from work) is used in the Bible is not until thousands of years after the Creation week in chapter 16 of the Book of Exodus. God had laws which Abraham obeyed (Genesis 26:5), and most of the Ten Commandments are mentioned in one or more places in Genesis, but the Sabbath is never mentioned in Genesis. The first explicit mention of Sabbath observance dates from approximately 1450 B.C. at the time when manna was given to Israel in the desert of Sinai in Genesis 16. Shortly there afterwards, God made the Sabbath a commandment for the Israelites when He entered into the Mosaic Covenantal relationship with them. [3]

Nehemiah 9:13-14 says, “You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant.”

While the Israelites had some prior understanding of the Sabbath based upon the provision of manna given to them on the sixth day of the week, they could not have understood the significance of it until the Law was given on Mount Sinai. Nehemiah makes it clear that God made his holy Sabbath known to Israel at that time, not before!

Is the Sabbath still a "sign" between God and His People? Under the covenant agreements that God made with Abraham and the Israelites, three practices were instituted by God as signs of obedience which the Israelites were expected to follow for all their generations.

The First Sign was Circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14; Leviticus 12:1-3)

Genesis 17:9-14, "And God said to Abraham, “As for you, you shall keep my covenant, you and your offspring after you throughout their generations. This is my covenant, which you shall keep, between me and you and your offspring after you: Every male among you shall be circumcised. You shall be circumcised in the flesh of your foreskins, and it shall be a sign of the covenant between me and you. He who is eight days old among you shall be circumcised. Every male throughout your generations, whether born in your house or bought with your money from any foreigner who is not of your offspring, both he who is born in your house and he who is bought with your money, shall surely be circumcised. So shall my covenant be in your flesh an everlasting covenant. Any uncircumcised male who is not circumcised in the flesh of his foreskin shall be cut off from his people; he has broken my covenant.”

Leviticus 12:1-3, "The LORD spoke to Moses, saying, “Speak to the people of Israel, saying, If a woman conceives and bears a male child, then she shall be unclean seven days. As at the time of her menstruation, she shall be unclean. And on the eighth day the flesh of his foreskin shall be circumcised."

The Second Sign was the Passover (Exodus 12:13-14; Leviticus 23:4-8)

Exodus 12:13-14, "The blood shall be a sign for you, on the houses where you are. And when I see the blood, I will pass over you, and no plague will befall you to destroy you, when I strike the land of Egypt. “This day shall be for you a memorial day, and you shall keep it as a feast to the LORD; throughout your generations, as a statute forever, you shall keep it as a feast."

Leviticus 23:4-8, “These are the appointed feasts of the LORD, the holy convocations, which you shall proclaim at the time appointed for them. In the first month, on the fourteenth day of the month at twilight, is the LORD’s Passover. And on the fifteenth day of the same month is the Feast of Unleavened Bread to the LORD; for seven days you shall eat unleavened bread. On the first day you shall have a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work. But you shall present a food offering to the LORD for seven days. On the seventh day is a holy convocation; you shall not do any ordinary work.”

The Third Sign was Sabbath observance (Exodus 31:13, 17)

Exodus 31:13, 17, “You are to speak to the people of Israel and say, ‘Above all you shall keep my Sabbaths, for this is a sign between me and you throughout your generations, that you may know that I, the LORD, sanctify you… It is a sign forever between me and the people of Israel that in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day he rested and was refreshed.’”

Notice that the Sabbath as a "sign" was given to the children of Israel. Seventh-day Adventists claim that they are "spiritual Israel". If so, then why don’t they also practice the other "eternal signs" of obedience between Israel and God? Notice that the "signs" of Circumcision and the Passover were to be practiced by God's special people forever. So, why don't Adventists celebrate the Passover? The truth is that the signs of obedience given specifically to Israel, Sabbath-keeping, circumcision, and the Passover are never stated in the New Testament as signs or requirements for Christians living under the New Covenant. [4]

Some say Sabbath-keeping will remain in
Heaven because of some passages in the Book of Isaiah.

However, Isaiah 65 & Isaiah 66 are not talking about Heaven!

Isaiah 66:22-23, "For as the new heavens and the new earth that I make shall remain before me, says the LORD, so shall your offspring and your name remain. From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD."

Isaiah 65:19-20, "I will rejoice in Jerusalem and be glad in my people; no more shall be heard in it the sound of weeping and the cry of distress. No more shall there be in it an infant who lives but a few days, or an old man who does not fill out his days, for the young man shall die a hundred years old, and the sinner a hundred years old shall be accursed."

Isaiah 66:24, “And they shall go out and look on the dead bodies of the men who have rebelled against me. For their worm shall not die, their fire shall not be quenched, and they shall be an abhorrence to all flesh.”

Notice the way the New Testament speaks about the New Heavens and the New Earth:

     1. There is no more death or sorrow in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (Revelation 20:4, 14)
     2. The celestial bodies seem to be gone from the New Heavens and the New Earth and therefore no nights. (2 Peter 3:10-13; Revelation 20:11; Revelation 21:22-26; Revelation 22:5; Matthew 24:35-36)
     3. There is no Levitical Priesthood and no sanctuary in the New Heavens and the New Earth. (Revelation 21:22-26)
     4. What some people refer to as heaven in Isaiah, Jesus used as an allusion to hell - "where their worm does not die and the fire is not quenched."(Isaiah 66:24; Mark 9:42-48) [5]

Isaiah 66:23 doesn’t correctly say “from one Sabbath to another”; it literally says, “From new moon to new moon, and from Sabbath to Sabbath, all flesh shall come to worship before me, declares the LORD.”

Adventists never mention the “new moon” reference in this prophecy. But they can’t ignore the new moons if they want to keep the Sabbath. In Eerdmans Handbook to the Bible, we read: "Perhaps in early times the weekly Sabbath was adjusted to coincide with major festivals, or even with new moons (see Leviticus 23). After the exile, the seventh-day Sabbath was more strictly observed and became independent of the lunisolar calendar. So the orthodox Jews had problems over the relationship of the sabbaths and festivals." (p. 111)

So, if Adventists are going to say that Sabbath was not canceled at the cross, they must also say that the new moons were not canceled either. Yet, Adventists do say the new moon festivals came to their end at the cross (see: Colossians 2:14-17). This verse, however, puts them together and it is not possible to say the Sabbath continues but New Moon celebrations do not. In the context of this passage, you cannot separate the two.

There Will Be No Seventh Day in Heaven:

Revelation 21:23-25 says, “the city has no need of sun or moon to shine on it, for the glory of God gives it light, and its lamp is the Lamb.” It even says there will be no need for a sun or a moon." Revelation 22:5 also says, “And night will be no more. They will need no light of lamp or sun …” Without days and nights, there can be no seventh day. There are no passing days. There is eternal LIGHT. There cannot be a seventh-day Sabbath in heaven if there is no day nor night! [6]

Law Of Moses Is The Whole Body Of The Mosaic Legislation
(1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2)

It is simply called "the Law" (Heb. Torah, Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 4:8; Deuteronomy 4:44; Deuteronomy 17:18; Deuteronomy 17:19; Deuteronomy 27:3; Deuteronomy 27:8). As a written code, it is called the "book of the law of Moses" (2 Kings 14:6; Isaiah 8:20), and as the "book of the law of God" (Joshua 24:26).

The Mosaic Law is essentially theocratic. It refers to the Commands of God as the primary responsibility of mankind and the foundation of all human duty. [7]

The Seventh-day Adventists and many other Sabbatarian groups make an artificial distinction between the Law of God (The Ten Commandments) and the Law of Moses. There is no Biblical distinction. They are one and the same law! They were the Old Covenant that was replaced by the New “Better” Covenant.

The 10 Commandments Are The Old Covenant.
(The tablets are part of the abolished first covenant)

Exodus 34:27-28, "And the LORD said to Moses, “Write these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel.” So he was there with the LORD forty days and forty nights. He neither ate bread nor drank water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments."

Deuteronomy 4:13, "And he declared to you his covenant, which he commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments, and he wrote them on two tablets of stone."

Deuteronomy 9:9, "When I went up the mountain to receive the tablets of stone, the tablets of the covenant that the LORD made with you, I remained on the mountain forty days and forty nights. I neither ate bread nor drank water."

Deuteronomy 5:2-3, "The LORD our God made a covenant with us in Horeb. Not with our fathers did the LORD make this covenant, but with us, who are all of us here alive today."

1 Kings 8:9, 21, "There was nothing in the ark except the two tablets of stone that Moses put there at Horeb, where the LORD made a covenant with the people of Israel, when they came out of the land of Egypt… “And there I have provided a place for the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with our fathers, when he brought them out of the land of Egypt.”

2 Chronicles 6:11, "And there I have set the ark, in which is the covenant of the LORD that he made with the people of Israel."

The New Covenant makes the First / Old Covenant "Obsolete".

Hebrews 8:13, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

Hebrews 9:1, 4, "Now even the first covenant had regulations for worship and an earthly place of holiness. ... 4 having the golden altar of incense and the ark of the covenant covered on all sides with gold, in which was a golden urn holding the manna, and Aaron’s staff that budded, and the tablets of the covenant."

There was one and only one “Old Covenant” that Jesus fulfilled and brought to an end.
God’s faithful live under The New Covenant today.

The Old Testament is clear - There Is No Difference between
"The Law of God" and the "Law of Moses"

Nehemiah uses the different terms interchangeably. He wrote these verses with an almost prophetic eye toward the future when some groups would come along and falsely claim that there were two different Covenants when in fact, there is just one. The Jews have always known this and it has been the consistent teaching of the Church throughout its entire history. Only a few small groups have come along (mostly Sabbatarians) that teach that there are two separate laws. The Seventh-day Adventists have a special need for this to be true since their entire system stands or falls on its meaning.

Nehemiah 8:1, "And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel."

Nehemiah 8:2, "So Ezra the priest brought the Law before the assembly, both men and women and all who could understand what they heard, on the first day of the seventh month."

Nehemiah 8:3, "And he read from it facing the square before the Water Gate from early morning until midday, in the presence of the men and the women and those who could understand. And the ears of all the people were attentive to the Book of the Law."

Nehemiah 8:8-9, "They read from the book, from the Law of God, clearly, and they gave the sense, so that the people understood the reading. And Nehemiah, who was the governor, and Ezra the priest and scribe, and the Levites who taught the people said to all the people, “This day is holy to the LORD your God; do not mourn or weep.” For all the people wept as they heard the words of the Law."

Nehemiah 8:14-18 And they found it written in the Law that the LORD had commanded by Moses that the people of Israel should dwell in booths during the feast of the seventh month, and that they should proclaim it and publish it in all their towns and in Jerusalem, “Go out to the hills and bring branches of olive, wild olive, myrtle, palm, and other leafy trees to make booths, as it is written.” So the people went out and brought them and made booths for themselves, each on his roof, and in their courts and in the courts of the house of God, and in the square at the Water Gate and in the square at the Gate of Ephraim. And all the assembly of those who had returned from the captivity made booths and lived in the booths, for from the days of Jeshua the son of Nun to that day the people of Israel had not done so. And there was very great rejoicing. And day by day, from the first day to the last day, he read from the Book of the Law of God. They kept the feast seven days, and on the eighth day there was a solemn assembly, according to the rule."

In these verses, Nehemiah is reading to the people from the Law that they had not heard in their entire lifetimes. Nehemiah wanted to restore the people to a lifestyle of keeping the Covenant. Notice, the passage uses the terms interchangeably, leaving no doubt about what the Covenant can be called. The terms used are: “The book of the Law of Moses” i.e. the Mosaic Covenant; “the Law”; “The book of the law”; the book, from the “Law of God”; and He read from the "book of the law of God” daily.

If there is a distinction between the moral and ceremonial laws, why then in the single chapter of Nehemiah 8 are the following phrases all used interchangeably: "book of the law of Moses" verse 1, "the law" verse 2, "book of the law" verse 3, "the law of God" verse 8, and “book of the law of God" verse 18? [8]

The Old Testament states plainly that they are All the same Law!

There cannot possibly be any difference between "the Law of God" and the "Law of Moses" when it is said that God gave the Law of Moses (Ezra 7:6; Nehemiah 8:1) and Moses gave the Law of God (Nehemiah 10:29; 2 Chronicles 34:14)?

Ezra 7:6, "this Ezra went up from Babylonia. He was a scribe skilled in the Law of Moses that the LORD, the God of Israel, had given, and the king granted him all that he asked, for the hand of the LORD his God was on him."

Nehemiah 8:1, "And all the people gathered as one man into the square before the Water Gate. And they told Ezra the scribe to bring the Book of the Law of Moses that the LORD had commanded Israel."

Nehemiah 10:29, "join with their brothers, their nobles, and enter into a curse and an oath to walk in God’s Law that was given by Moses the servant of God, and to observe and do all the commandments of the LORD our Lord and his rules and his statutes."

2 Chronicles 34:14, "While they were bringing out the money that had been brought into the house of the LORD, Hilkiah the priest found the Book of the Law of the LORD given through Moses."

Other Verses That Teach the Law of the Lord Is
The Entire Legal System Known as the Mosaic Covenant:

If there is a distinction between the moral and ceremonial laws, why are the Jewish feast days called part of the Law of the Lord in 2 Chronicles 31:3-4?
Why did Jesus say Moses gave the Ten Commandment Law: "You shall not murder" in John 7:19?
If there is a distinction between moral and ceremonial laws, why does the "Law of God" command animal sacrifices (Luke 2:23-24) and the "Law of the Lord" contains burnt offerings? (2 Chronicles 31:3; 1 Chronicles 16:40)
If there is a distinction between moral and ceremonial laws, then why is the book of the law filled with moral laws not contained in the Ten Commandments?
If there is a distinction between the Law of the Lord and the Law of Moses, why in 2 Chronicles 35:26 are "the acts of Josiah and his deeds of devotion as written in the Law of the Lord"?
If there is a distinction between moral and ceremonial laws, then why does the Law of God include new moons, solemn feast days? (Psalms 81:3-4)
If there is a distinction between the Law of the Lord and the Law of Moses, why did the law tell Israel to dwell in tents? (Nehemiah 8:14)
If the Mosaic Law against eating pork was abolished by Christ, why do Seventh-day Adventists continue to enforce what they call, "the ceremonial law of Moses" (Mark 7:18-19; 1 Timothy 4:1-4; Romans 14:2; Acts 10:9-16) which they say has come to an end? [9]

The Mosaic Covenant was Conditional upon
Israel’s Faithful Response to Keep the Covenant.

Exodus 19-24 are key chapters to understanding both redemptive history and the history of Israel as a nation. As a conditional promise, the Mosaic Covenant is dependent on the peoples’ response to the law God gives through His servant Moses.

Exodus 19:5-6 says, "Now therefore, if you will indeed obey my voice and keep my covenant, you shall be my treasured possession among all peoples, for all the earth is mine; and you shall be to me a kingdom of priests and a holy nation. These are the words that you shall speak to the people of Israel.”

God tells Moses that “if” Israel obeys, they will be His chosen people, His treasured possession. Ultimately, these blessings were to be extended to all other nations and people. This conditional promise is structured after a Hittite, Suzerain-Vassal covenant from 1400 - 1300 B.C. and it brings Israel closer to realizing the promises made by God in the Abrahamic Covenant.

The Suzerain-Vassal covenant was a very common covenant type used between nations at the time of the exodus. The Mosaic Covenant had very specific, blessings and curses laid out for them in Deuteronomy 28-30 and Leviticus 26.

Ultimately, Israel broke covenant with God and they received the full curses of the covenant, captivity. After their captivity in 586 B.C. Israel was restored with national territorial boundaries. Israel once again broke covenant with God and received the ultimate curse. Israel was destroyed as a nation and God brought the Old Covenant to an end when Jesus declared the soon coming destruction of the nation and all its temple services (Matthew 23:37-39; Matthew 21:42-44; Luke 13:34-35; 1 Kings 9:7; Jeremiah 22:5; 1 Peter 2:9).

Because Israel rejected their messiah, Jesus instituted the New Covenant with his church, made up of both Jew and Gentile believers. The book of Hebrews says that the New Covenant is a “better” covenant. It has a better priesthood, a better sacrifice, a better rest. The purpose of the New Covenant is for all of God’s people to enter into his divine rest, “Today”.

Some people argue that the Ten Commandments are eternal:

     1. It cannot be shown that the Decalogue (the Ten Commandments) is purely moral in character, the Sabbath always had more of a ceremonial character to it. (Leviticus 23)
     2. The supposed three-fold division of Mosaic Law - moral, civil, ceremonial - is not a legitimate hermeneutical tool for the understanding of the abolition passages of the New Testament. (Romans 14:5-11; Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Ephesians 2:14-16; Colossians 2:14-17)
     3. Third, some of the New Testament passages which speak of the passing away of the Old Covenant speak specifically in reference to the Decalogue. (2 Corinthians 3; Romans 7:1-7; Hebrews 8:13-9:4). [10] (See: Appendix C)

The Sabbath ended with the Old Covenant.

“The Sabbath had a prophetic function in its anticipation of the gospel rest enjoyed by all who are in Christ, both now and in eternity (Hebrews 4; see: Appendix A).” The scriptures clearly show that the “Sabbath was given to Israel alone and ended with the Old Covenant. (Exodus 31; Colossians 2:13-17; Galatians 4:10-11) According to both Church Reformers, Luther and Calvin, the Sabbath found its fulfillment in Christ Jesus (Colossians 2:17). [11]

Jesus Has Replaced The Old Covenant With The New Covenant!

Jesus Was A Jew. He Taught Under The Law
To Free Us From The Curse Of The Law.

Jesus Was Born Under Law

Galatians 4:4-5, "But when the fullness of time had come, God sent forth his Son, born of woman, born under the law, to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons."

Jesus Taught the Law

Jesus faithfully taught the law. He rejected the unbiblical traditions of the Scribes and Pharisees.

Luke 10:25-27, "And behold, a lawyer stood up to put him to the test, saying, “Teacher, what shall I do to inherit eternal life?” He said to him, “What is written in the Law? How do you read it?” And he answered, “You shall love the Lord your God with all your heart and with all your soul and with all your strength and with all your mind, and your neighbor as yourself.”

Jesus Was Sinless Under the Law

John 8:46, "Which one of you convicts me of sin? If I tell the truth, why do you not believe me?"

Jesus, as the promised Messiah, came and fulfilled the Law of Moses. He testified in Matthew 5:17, “Do not think that I have come to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I have not come to abolish them but to fulfill them.” Merriam-Webster defines the word fulfill as: "to put into effect", “to measure up to", "to bring to completion" or "to bring to an end."

Jesus Kept the Law Perfectly

Jesus is the only person who has ever kept the law perfectly. He did everything the law required. Because He was sinless, Jesus was able to meet the requirements of the law to be the perfect sacrifice needed for our sins. His death redeemed humanity from the curse of the law. Jesus fulfilled the Old Covenant expectations and accomplished all that was required of the messiah. All the prophecies regarding the messiah’s first coming were fulfilled. Only Jesus could bring the Old Covenant to an end and issue in its place the New Covenant of grace (cf. Jesus Fulfilled: Luke 24:44-47; John 19:28; Acts 3:18; Romans 8:4; 13:8; Galatians 5:14 | Jesus Accomplished: Luke 18:31; John 17:4; 19:28; Romans 15:8, 9, 18).

Galatians 3:13, "Christ redeemed us from the curse of the law by becoming a curse for us—for it is written, “Cursed is everyone who is hanged on a tree”

The Curse of the Law was removed by Jesus' Death

In Galatians 4:5-7 the curse that the law had over humanity was now removed. The death of Christ meant that those who were previously slaves under the law could become the children of God and heirs to His promises. In verse 5, God sent forth his Son “to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons. And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts, crying, “Abba! Father!” So you are no longer a slave, but a son, and if a son, then an heir through God.”

Jesus took our sins upon himself so that we could become the righteousness of God!

2 Corinthians 5:21 says, "For our sake he made him to be sin who knew no sin, so that in him we might become the righteousness of God."

Christ has Taken Away the Bondage of the Law for the Believer
And has given them Freedom, in place of Slavery.

Now, Christ’s Followers are to live by the “Law of Christ”.

God Given - Divine Love is the Foundation for the
New Covenant “Law of Christ”.

John 13:34, "A new commandment I give to you, that you love one another: just as I have loved you, you also are to love one another."

Paul wrote in Galatians 6:2 “Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.”

Jesus is the only person who has ever lived who has perfectly kept God's law. Because He fulfilled the law, Jesus was able to become the perfect sacrifice for sin. Those who put their faith in Him are freed from the bondage of the Mosaic Law and have become God's children. Instead, we are to keep the “Law of Love” that Jesus lived by.

Jesus Promised That After He Left, The Holy Spirit Would Come
And Give Us New Truths That The Disciples Were Not Then Ready To Hear.

John 16:5-11, "But now I am going to him who sent me, and none of you asks me, ‘Where are you going?’ But because I have said these things to you, sorrow has filled your heart. Nevertheless, I tell you the truth: it is to your advantage that I go away, for if I do not go away, the Helper will not come to you. But if I go, I will send him to you. And when he comes, he will convict the world concerning sin and righteousness and judgment: concerning sin, because they do not believe in me; concerning righteousness, because I go to the Father, and you will see me no longer; concerning judgment, because the ruler of this world is judged."

The Mystery Of The New Covenant Would Be
Laid Out For Us Through The Teachings Of The Holy Spirit.

John 16:12-15, “I still have many things to say to you, but you cannot bear them now. When the Spirit of truth comes, he will guide you into all the truth, for he will not speak on his own authority, but whatever he hears he will speak, and he will declare to you the things that are to come. He will glorify me, for he will take what is mine and declare it to you. All that the Father has is mine; therefore I said that he will take what is mine and declare it to you."

Jesus Called The Apostle Paul And Gave Him
Special Revelations About The New Covenant Gospel.

Galatians 2:2-7, "I went up because of a revelation and set before them (though privately before those who seemed influential) the gospel that I proclaim among the Gentiles, in order to make sure I was not running or had not run in vain. But even Titus, who was with me, was not forced to be circumcised, though he was a Greek. Yet because of false brothers secretly brought in—who slipped in to spy out our freedom that we have in Christ Jesus, so that they might bring us into slavery— to them we did not yield in submission even for a moment, so that the truth of the gospel might be preserved for you. And from those who seemed to be influential (what they were makes no difference to me; God shows no partiality)—those, I say, who seemed influential added nothing to me. On the contrary, when they saw that I had been entrusted with the gospel to the uncircumcised, just as Peter had been entrusted with the gospel to the circumcised."

The Leaders Of The Early Church Recognized The Special Revelations Given To
The Apostle Paul And Commissioned Him And Barnabas To Go
And Share The Gospel with the Gentiles.

Galatians 2:8-10, "(for he who worked through Peter for his apostolic ministry to the circumcised worked also through me for mine to the Gentiles), and when James and Cephas and John, who seemed to be pillars, perceived the grace that was given to me, they gave the right hand of fellowship to Barnabas and me, that we should go to the Gentiles and they to the circumcised. Only, they asked us to remember the poor, the very thing I was eager to do."

Paul was A Jew, Yet He taught us to Keep
the New Covenant Laws, Not the Old Covenant Laws.

Romans 1:16, "For I am not ashamed of the gospel, for it is the power of God for salvation to everyone who believes, to the Jew first and also to the Greek."

The Gospel was meant to Go to the Jews First!

Paul would always go into a new town and seek out Jews first. The Book of Acts says this was his custom. Where do you go to meet the local Jews? At the synagogue on the Sabbath! After finding any Jews (or God-fearers) that would follow the Gospel message he would then reach out to the Gentile community.

Paul was a Jew, his whole life. He never renounced Judaism! But the gospel to the Gentiles did not require Gentiles to become Jews. The New Covenant has none of the Jewish ceremonies that the Old Covenant required specifically of Israel.

In 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 Paul said, “For though I am free from all, I have made myself a servant to all, that I might win more of them. To the Jews I became as a Jew, in order to win Jews. To those under the law I became as one under the law (though not being myself under the law) that I might win those under the law. To those outside the law I became as one outside the law (not being outside the law of God but under the law of Christ) that I might win those outside the law. To the weak I became weak, that I might win the weak. I have become all things to all people, that by all means I might save some. I do it all for the sake of the gospel, that I may share with them in its blessings.”

Why is the Sabbath the only one of the Ten Commandments that are said to be "throughout your generations", the usual phrase that indicates it was a temporary ceremonial law only for the Jews? There is no example of exclusively Gentile Christians coming together on the Sabbath day as a church or prayer meeting after the resurrection of Christ.

Paul went into new areas and would preach to the Jews in the synagogues about the salvation of God through the grace of Jesus Christ. The book of Acts says that he went in and spoke on the Sabbath up to 84 separate times. Paul would always go to the Jews first. Going into a synagogue does not make a person a Sabbath keeper. Seventh-day Adventists hold “Prophecy Seminars” on Sundays. Does that make them Sunday worshipers?

There is no evidence that Paul or any other inspired, New Covenant believer observed the Sabbath in obedience to the Forth Commandment after Jesus' resurrection. The passages used to "prove" he did are all referring to assemblies of unconverted Jews (Acts 13:14, 42, 44; Acts 15:20, 21; Acts 16:13; Acts 17:1-3; Acts 18). Not one of these meetings refer to gatherings of Christians to worship like Acts 20:7 and 1 Corinthians 16:1-2 refer to gatherings of Christ-followers on the first day of the week.

The passages say Paul attended Jewish synagogues for the purpose of teaching the Jews who had assembled Acts 13:5, 14, 15, 16, 42, 44; Acts 14:1; Acts 17:1-3; Acts 18:4-5). Jews kept the Sabbath, as they had for generations. (Acts 15:20-21) They did not believe the Old Testament had been fulfilled. Their assemblies offered Paul an opportunity to teach, but no passage says he thought he was required to observe the Sabbath. We have already cited several verses showing Paul taught that the law, including the Sabbath, was not binding on believers. Using an opportunity to teach is not the same thing as observing a religious day. The other Apostles taught at different times and places too (Acts 5:42; Acts 17:17, 22; Acts 19:9-10; Acts 20:7, 31), but that does not make those times special in anyway either. [12]

During the time of the Old Covenant, the “Stranger” in Israel was expected to keep Sabbath.

A person could choose to live in Israel but just like here, they had to keep the constitutional laws of the land. If they were out trying to buy and sell, they would be tempting God's people to sin.

Nehemiah 13:15-21 says, "In those days I saw in Judah people treading winepresses on the Sabbath, and bringing in heaps of grain and loading them on donkeys, and also wine, grapes, figs, and all kinds of loads, which they brought into Jerusalem on the Sabbath day. And I warned them on the day when they sold food. Tyrians also, who lived in the city, brought in fish and all kinds of goods and sold them on the Sabbath to the people of Judah, in Jerusalem itself! Then I confronted the nobles of Judah and said to them, “What is this evil thing that you are doing, profaning the Sabbath day? Did not your fathers act in this way, and did not our God bring all this disaster on us and on this city? Now you are bringing more wrath on Israel by profaning the Sabbath.”
As soon as it began to grow dark at the gates of Jerusalem before the Sabbath, I commanded that the doors should be shut and gave orders that they should not be opened until after the Sabbath. And I stationed some of my servants at the gates, that no load might be brought in on the Sabbath day. Then the merchants and sellers of all kinds of wares lodged outside Jerusalem once or twice. But I warned them and said to them, “Why do you lodge outside the wall? If you do so again, I will lay hands on you.” From that time on they did not come on the Sabbath."

If They wanted to keep Passover and the other Feasts they had to be Circumcised and become a Jew.

Exodus 12:43-49 says, "And the LORD said to Moses and Aaron, “This is the statute of the Passover: no foreigner shall eat of it, but every slave that is bought for money may eat of it after you have circumcised him. No foreigner or hired worker may eat of it. It shall be eaten in one house; you shall not take any of the flesh outside the house, and you shall not break any of its bones. All the congregation of Israel shall keep it. If a stranger shall sojourn with you and would keep the Passover to the LORD, let all his males be circumcised. Then he may come near and keep it; he shall be as a native of the land. But no uncircumcised person shall eat of it. There shall be one law for the native and for the stranger who sojourns among you.”

Under the New Covenant - no one is required to become a Jew and keep the Old Covenant Laws!

There Is No Command In The New Testament For Christians
To Keep The Seventh-day Sabbath Holy!

The New Covenant Was Given To All God’s People.
All Christ Followers, Jew And Gentile.

Luke 22:20 says, “And likewise the cup after they had eaten, saying, “This cup that is poured out for you is the new covenant in my blood.”

Romans 11:27, “and this will be my covenant with them when I take away their sins.”

The Gospel Commission Given To “All Nations”.

Matthew 28:18-20, "And Jesus came and said to them, “All authority in heaven and on earth has been given to me. Go therefore and make disciples of all nations, baptizing them in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit, teaching them to observe all that I have commanded you. And behold, I am with you always, to the end of the age.”

“(The imperative (make disciples, that is, call individuals to commit to Jesus as Master and Lord) explains the central focus of the Great Commission, while the Greek participles {translated go, baptizing, and teaching} describe aspects of the process. Jesus’ ministry in Israel was to be the beginning point of what would later be a proclamation of the gospel to all the peoples of the earth, including not only Jews but also Gentiles.” [13]

The Great Commission (Matthew 28:19-20) is preceded by a reference to Jesus' authority and followed by the promise of Jesus' spiritual presence among us. Both are necessary if we are to fulfill our God-given mission.

Corinthian Gentiles and Jews lived together under one "New" Covenant

1 Corinthians 11:25, "In the same way also he took the cup, after supper, saying, “This cup is the new covenant in my blood. Do this, as often as you drink it, in remembrance of me.”

2 Corinthians 3:6, "who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

Roman Gentiles and Jews lived together under one "New" Covenant

Romans 10:11-13, "For the Scripture says, “Everyone who believes in him will not be put to shame.” For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him. For “everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.”

The New Covenant Is Superior To The Old Covenant In Every Way!

Hebrews 7:22, "This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant."

Hebrews 8:6-7, "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second."

Hebrews 12:24, "and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."

Hebrews 13:20, "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant,"

All Christ Followers, Jew and Gentile live under
one "New" and "Eternal" Covenant.

Romans 6:3-4, "Do you not know that all of us who have been baptized into Christ Jesus were baptized into his death? We were buried therefore with him by baptism into death, in order that, just as Christ was raised from the dead by the glory of the Father, we too might walk in newness of life."

Revelation 5:9, "And they sang a new song, saying, “Worthy are you to take the scroll and to open its seals, for you were slain, and by your blood you ransomed people for God from every tribe and language and people and nation"

The Blood Of Jesus Christ Covers Everyone Who
Accepts Him as their Lord and Savior.

That Is Why The New Covenant Is A "Better" Covenant.

The sign of Circumcision and observance of all the laws of Moses were an issue in the early church. A church council was convened in Jerusalem around A.D. 50 and the Apostles debated over which of the Laws that God gave to Moses applied to Christians. During that council, the members settled upon four laws for Gentile converts.

Acts 15:1, 5, "But some men came down from Judea and were teaching the brothers, “Unless you are circumcised according to the custom of Moses, you cannot be saved”… But some believers who belonged to the party of the Pharisees rose up and said, “It is necessary to circumcise them and to order them to keep the law of Moses.”

Acts 15:10-11, "Now, therefore, why are you putting God to the test by placing a yoke on the neck of the disciples that neither our fathers nor we have been able to bear? But we believe that we will be saved through the grace of the Lord Jesus, just as they will.”

Acts 15:24, "Since we have heard that some persons have gone out from us and troubled you with words, unsettling your minds, although we gave them no instructions"

These verses makes it perfectly clear that the Apostles never commanded their followers to "keep the Law" of Moses. In this context, the law refers to all the ordinances and commands written by Moses in the Torah, including the passage where the Sabbath is described as a sign between God and Israel (Exodus 31:13,17). In fact, the Apostles considered that for Christians to attempt to observe the teachings of Moses in the Torah would be the same as "subverting [their] souls." There is no evidence that any of the three signs of Israel’s covenant (Circumcision, Passover, Sabbath observance) were ever considered "signs" of Christianity. On the contrary, Paul fought constantly against enforcing the sign of circumcision on Gentile converts in the Book of Galatians. Paul goes so far as to say that Christ was the fulfillment of the Passover (1 Corinthians 5:7). [14]

If we must follow the example of Jesus in all things like keeping the Sabbath, then why don’t Adventists follow the example of Jesus in circumcision, animal sacrifices, new moons and keeping the Passover and other Feasts?

Acts 15:28-29, "For it has seemed good to the Holy Spirit and to us to lay on you no greater burden than these requirements: that you abstain from what has been sacrificed to idols, and from blood, and from what has been strangled, and from sexual immorality. If you keep yourselves from these, you will do well. Farewell.”

Notice that it was the "Holy Spirit" that made these requirements, and the Apostles were careful to say that "no greater burden" from the Law of Moses was to be laid upon the Gentiles than these four requirements. In fact, The Church leaders made it clear to all the churches that they would never place a burden of keeping the Law upon the Gentile converts. The restrictions placed on the Gentiles are instead based on the Seven Laws of Noah.

All God’s people Sin and Fall short of His Glory.
There is nothing any of us can do to save ourselves.

It is only by Christ’ Sacrifice that are we Saved!

Romans 2:13-16, "For it is not the hearers of the law who are righteous before God, but the doers of the law who will be justified. For when Gentiles, who do not have the law, by nature do what the law requires, they are a law to themselves, even though they do not have the law. They show that the work of the law is written on their hearts, while their conscience also bears witness, and their conflicting thoughts accuse or even excuse them on that day when, according to my gospel, God judges the secrets of men by Christ Jesus."

Romans 2:23-25, "You who boast in the law dishonor God by breaking the law. For, as it is written, “The name of God is blasphemed among the Gentiles because of you.” For circumcision indeed is of value if you obey the law, but if you break the law, your circumcision becomes uncircumcision."

Romans 3:23, "for all have sinned and fall short of the glory of God"

Romans 6:23, "For the wages of sin is death, but the free gift of God is eternal life in Christ Jesus our Lord."

Christians Were Never Under The Old Covenant Law!

Christians are not under the Mosaic Law. They never have been. To be under the Law means that a person is under the power and authority of the Law to judge and condemn anyone who breaks the Law. Look at these verses that talk about being under the Law.

Romans 2:12, "For all who have sinned without the law will also perish without the law, and all who have sinned under the law will be judged by the law." (ἐν νόμῳ, en nomo, literally 'in law').

Galatians 3:23, "Now before faith came, we were held captive under the law, imprisoned until the coming faith would be revealed." (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law').

Galatians 4:5, "to redeem those who were under the law, so that we might receive adoption as sons." (ὑπὸ νόμον, hupo nomon, literally 'under law').

As you can see, to be under the Law means you will be judged by the Law. In the Old Testament Law found in Deuteronomy 27:26 it says, Cursed be anyone who does not confirm the words of this law by doing them.’ And all the people shall say, ‘Amen.’ (So, to be under the Law means you have to keep it all).

Galatians 3:10, "For all who rely on works of the law are under a curse; for it is written, “Cursed be everyone who does not abide by all things written in the Book of the Law, and do them.” (That is what it means to be under the Law) [15]

So, Christians are not under the Old Covenant Law. In other words, Christians are not obligated to keep the Law to be saved from God's righteous judgments and a Godless Eternity.

“The righteousness of Christ that is transferred to us is the righteousness Jesus achieved by living under the Law his entire life without once sinning. Jesus had to live a life of obedience before His death could mean anything. Without His life of sinless obedience, Jesus’ atonement would have had no value at all. It is crucial that we see the significance of this truth; we need to see that not only did Jesus die for us, He lives for us as well”

“In Protestantism, we speak of this as the doctrine of justification by faith alone, for according to the New Testament, the only means by which the righteousness and the merit of Christ can come into our accounts and be applied to us is by faith. We can’t earn it. We can’t deserve it. We can’t merit it. We can only trust in it and cling to it.” [16]

Christians are freed from having to try and please God by keeping the Law.
The Old Covenant Law has no power over us. We are not under its authority.

Galatians 5:18, "But if you are led by the Spirit, you are not under the law."

Romans 6:14, "For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace."

Christians Have Died To The Law!

Christians are not under the Law because they have died to the Law. They have died with Christ, and those who have died with Christ are not bound by the “Old Covenant” Law.

Romans 4:15, "For the law brings wrath, but where there is no law there is no transgression."

Romans 6:6, "We know that our old self was crucified with him in order that the body of sin might be brought to nothing, so that we would no longer be enslaved to sin."

Romans 6:8, "Now if we have died with Christ, we believe that we will also live with him."

Romans 7:4, "Likewise, my brothers, you also have died to the law through the body of Christ, so that you may belong to another, to him who has been raised from the dead, in order that we may bear fruit for God."

Romans 7:6, "But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

Christians have died with Christ! They are identified with Christ so closely that it can be said that when Christ died, they died with Him. Since Christians have died with Him, they are no longer under the Law because he who has died is freed from the Law (Romans 7:6). That is why Christians are not obligated to keep the Law of God in order to be saved from God's righteous judgment. Christians are saved from that requirement and penalty. [17]

The Old Covenant has been canceled! All its types and shadows have been made plain in Christ Jesus. All the sacrifices, Holy Days, Feasts, New Moon celebrations, and Dietary restrictions have been fulfilled and brought to an end by the New Covenant, including the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath.

Much of the Mosaic Law (the Law of God) are ceremonial laws to make a distinction between Israel and the nations that surrounded them. Colossians 2:14-17 says those things were "shadows" of what was to come. The much superior New Covenant includes all races and nations of people.

The issues of food and drink and Sabbath observances that many Adventists and their friends get so concerned about are irrelevant now, and Christians need not ever worry about them again. They belong to the Old Covenant, which we are not under.

Colossians 2:14-17, "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

Of verse 17, the NIV Study Bible says this; “shadow... reality. The ceremonial laws of the OT are here referred to as shadows (Hebrews 8:5; 10:1) because they symbolically depicted the coming of Christ; so any insistence on the observance of such ceremonies is a failure to recognize that their fulfillment has already taken place. This element of the Colossian heresy was combined with a rigid asceticism, as Colossians 2:20-21 reveal.”

The Colossian heresy was a mixture of legalistic Jewish ceremonial laws of the Old Testament and an early form of Gnosticism. In the Book of Galatians, Paul had to deal directly with the Judaizers and legalists who insisted that the new Gentile coverts had to keep the Old Covenant Law.

Galatians 1:6-9, "I am astonished that you are so quickly deserting him who called you in the grace of Christ and are turning to a different gospel— not that there is another one, but there are some who trouble you and want to distort the gospel of Christ. But even if we or an angel from heaven should preach to you a gospel contrary to the one we preached to you, let him be accursed. As we have said before, so now I say again: If anyone is preaching to you a gospel contrary to the one you received, let him be accursed."

Galatians 4:10-11, "You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain."

Galatians 4:21, "Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?"

If You Teach People To Keep The Old Covenant Laws
You Are Teaching A False Gospel.

Galatians 5:1-4, "For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace." (See: Acts 15:10)

Christ Has Set Us Free From The Law To Be Justified By Grace!

Some say that the Books of Colossians and Galatians are talking about what they call ceremonial Sabbaths and not the weekly, Seventh-day Sabbath of the Ten Commandments. As already shown, the Old Testament makes no distinction between the Law of Moses and the Law of God. The Law of Moses is the whole legal code for the Mosaic Covenant (1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2). It is called "the Law" (Heb. Torah, Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 4:8; Deuteronomy 4:44; Deuteronomy 17:18; Deuteronomy 17:19; Deuteronomy 27:3; Deuteronomy 27:8). It is called the "book of the law of Moses" (2 Kings 14:6; Isaiah 8:20), and the "book of the law of God" (Joshua 24:26). It was the legally-binding Constitution for the theocratic nation of Israel.

The New Testament Books of Colossians and Galatians are talking about the entire Yearly Cycle of Worship contained in the Law of Moses (i.e. God) which Includes the weekly Seventh-day Sabbath.

Some Important Points to Consider:

Colossians 2:16 contains the Old Testament pattern of referring to Jewish Holy Days in a yearly, monthly, weekly sequence as in 1 Chronicles 23:31; 2 Chronicles 31:3; 2 Chronicles 8:13; 2 Chronicles 2:4; Nehemiah 10:33; Ezekiel 45:17; Hosea 2:11; Galatians 4:10. (See below)
The plural "sabbaton" in Colossians 2:16 refers to the weekly Sabbath day, just as the plural "sabbaton" refers to the weekly Sabbath day in Matthew 28:1; Luke 4:16; Acts 16:13; Exodus 20:8 (Septuagint) Leviticus 23:37-38 (Septuagint).
In Colossians 2:16, the lack of the definite article before the word "Sabbath" in the Greek can refer to the weekly Sabbath, just as the weekly Sabbath lacks the definite article in Matthew 28:1, John 5:9, 10, 16. (See: Appendix C)
The New Testament the Greek word "sabbaton" is translated to mean "Sabbath" 59 times. Seventh-day Adventists believe that it means the Seventh-day "Sabbath" in 58 of those instances. The only time they change its meaning is in Colossians 2:16-17.

Notice how the same Construct is used in other verses
for the Old Covenant Yearly cycle of worship:

1 Chronicles 23:31, "and whenever burnt offerings were offered to the LORD on Sabbaths, new moons, and feast days, according to the number required of them, regularly before the LORD."

2 Chronicles 31:3, "The contribution of the king from his own possessions was for the burnt offerings: the burnt offerings of morning and evening, and the burnt offerings for the Sabbaths, the new moons, and the appointed feasts, as it is written in the Law of the LORD."

Ezekiel 45:17, "It shall be the prince’s duty to furnish the burnt offerings, grain offerings, and drink offerings, at the feasts, the new moons, and the Sabbaths, all the appointed feasts of the house of Israel: he shall provide the sin offerings, grain offerings, burnt offerings, and peace offerings, to make atonement on behalf of the house of Israel."

Nehemiah 10:33, "for the showbread, the regular grain offering, the regular burnt offering, the Sabbaths, the new moons, the appointed feasts, the holy things, and the sin offerings to make atonement for Israel, and for all the work of the house of our God."

Hosea 2:11-12, "And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts. And I will lay waste her vines and her fig trees, of which she said, ‘These are my wages, which my lovers have given me.’ I will make them a forest, and the beasts of the field shall devour them."

Galatians 4:10-11, "You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain." [18]

The yearly, monthly, weekly, pattern in Colossians proves it was the weekly Sabbath

Yearly

Monthly

Weekly

1 Chronicles 23:31

feast days

new moons

Sabbath

2 Chronicles 2:4

appointed feasts

new moons

Sabbath

2 Chronicles 8:13

annual feasts

new moons

Sabbath

2 Chronicles 31:3

appointed feasts

new moon

Sabbath

Nehemiah 10:33

appointed feasts

new moon

Sabbath

Isaiah 1:13-14

appointed feasts

new moons

Sabbath

Ezekiel 45:17

appointed feasts

new moons

Sabbath

Ezekiel 46:1-11

appointed festivals

new moons

Sabbath

Hosea 2:11

appointed feasts

new moons

Sabbath

Galatians 4:10-11

seasons and years

months

days

Colossians 2:16-17

festivals

new moon

Sabbath

(English Standard Version)

As you can see. The Old Covenant tells us of a system of “days, months, seasons and years”. This represents the entire cycle of Jewish Holy days throughout each year. It was a yearly cycle that pointed to the work of the messiah and would only stop once the true messiah came.

Sabbatarians like the Adventists say it doesn’t include the weekly Sabbath, but this is false. It is the ongoing cycle from days to months, feast to feast on through to the Day of Atonement when the cycle starts all over again.

The Apostle Paul wrote over one third of the New Testament and never once told his Gentile converts to keep the Mosaic Law or the Sabbath. Not once. Paul gave his churches instruction on everything they needed to know about Christianity: morality, giving, leadership principles, church organization, theology and everything else they needed to know to live the Christian life and never even once commanded anyone to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath.

Christ has replaced all these shadows. He is the reality that those symbols looked forward to. Thank God we no longer need the symbols. Jesus Christ is the substance. Jesus now lives his life in us and through us. Jesus Christ is our spiritual rest.

The New Covenant Is A Better Covenant - In Every Way!

Hebrews 8:13 says, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

In Jeremiah 31:31-34 a prophetic announcement and definition of the New Covenant was given, which was to be different from the covenant made with Israel at Mt. Sinai. The Book of Hebrews quotes Jeremiah 31:31-34 in chapters 8 and 10.

Hebrews 8:8-12 says, "He “finds fault with them." God blames sinful Israel for the failure of the first covenant."

Jeremiah 31:31-34 is quoted here and it supports several arguments in the Book of Hebrews:

This “second” covenant (Hebrews 8:7) comes after the Mosaic covenant (“the days are coming” Hebrews 8:8);
It is established by the Lord (Hebrews 8:8, 13);
It is a new covenant (Hebrews 8:8, 13);
It is unlike the former covenant of the exodus (Hebrews 8:9, 13);
The former covenant failed because of the fault of Israel (“for they did not continue in my covenant” Hebrews 8:9);
This new covenant involves a transformation of the inner life of its recipients by writing God’s New Covenant laws into their minds and hearts so that all will know him (Hebrews 8:10-11; 10:14-17); By its very nature, the Old Covenant Law was primarily external, but the New Covenant is internal (Ezekiel 36:26, 27; Romans 8:2-4). And…
It brings true, final forgiveness of sins (Hebrews 8:12; 9:15; 10:12-18).” [19]

The New Covenant is the “better covenant” of verse 6. This covenant was made with Israel and Judah, yet the church enjoys the spiritual blessings of this covenant too. The Abrahamic covenant was made with Abraham and his physical descendants (Genesis 17:7), who would inherit the land (Genesis 12:7; 13:14, 15). Yet the Abrahamic covenant also contained spiritual promises for “all the families of the earth” (Genesis 12:3) in which the church participates (Romans 11:11-27; Galatians 3:13, 14). The new covenant is in fact, a fulfillment of the spiritual redemption promised in the Abrahamic and Davidic covenants (Matthew 26:26-29; Luke 22:20). [20]

The Book of Hebrews Gives Us the Most Complete Information
About the Difference between the Two Covenants.

Hebrews 8:7, "For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second."

That “first covenant” is the “Mosaic Covenant” (Hebrews 8:9; Exodus 19:5).

Hebrews 8:8, "For he finds fault with them when he says: “Behold, the days are coming, declares the Lord, when I will establish a new covenant with the house of Israel and with the house of Judah"

Hebrews 8:9, "not like the covenant that I made with their fathers on the day when I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt. For they did not continue in my covenant, and so I showed no concern for them, declares the Lord."

“The "new covenant" according to Jeremiah 31:31-34 was to be made with the house of Israel and the house of Judah. Here it obviously applies to Christians as well. Perhaps the understanding is that Jeremiah's promise is fulfilled eschatologically (in connection with the return of Christ) and soteriologically (through salvation prior to the end), as indicated throughout Hebrews. The new covenant has a dual fulfillment. Believers of the present age receive now some of the benefits of the covenant, but the ultimate fulfillment of the new covenant awaits the future age when it will be realized in Israel.” [21]

In Hebrews 8:10-12 “There are four provisions of the new covenant: (1) God's [New Covenant] law will be written on believers' minds and hearts. This is in contrast to the Mosaic Law which was written on tablets of stone. (2) Believers will have a relationship with God fulfilling the promise of Leviticus 26:12 (see 2 Corinthians 6:16). (3) All will know God. No longer will Pharisees and scribes have to teach the intricacies of the Law to the people. (4) God will forgive the sins of believers and remember them no more. The continual sacrifice of animals for the atonement of sin will cease.” [22]

Hebrews 8:13, "In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away."

In Hebrews 8:13 “The presence of a new, better covenant not only demonstrates that the first covenant is not sufficient (Hebrews 8:7), it also shows that the first covenant is obsolete and ready to vanish away. At the time the author of Hebrews wrote these words, the ceremonies of the Mosaic Covenant were still being conducted in the temple in Jerusalem. In A.D. 70, the Roman general Titus destroyed the temple, fulfilling these words.” [23]

The Book of Hebrews explains the
Old Covenant in Light of the New Covenant!

The Book of Hebrews was written to a Jewish Christian community that needed to understand what it meant for them to live under the New “Better” Covenant that Christ initiated. Everything was changing and they had to understand what that meant for them and their Gentiles brothers and sisters.

There is only one New Covenant. Not two separate covenants, one for the Jews and one for the Gentiles. Paul had been clear in his teachings that the Mosaic Law (including the Ten Commandments) was not the basis for the Legal structure of the New Covenant (Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Colossians 2:14-17; Ephesians 2:11-16; Rom 14:1-23; Acts 15:1; Acts 15:5-11; Acts 15:28-29).

The New “Better” Covenant has its own new legal structure, the “Law of Christ”. Everything about this New Covenant is “Better”. Christ is greater than any angel, priest, or Old Covenant institution; thus each reader, rather than leaving such a great salvation, is summoned to hold on by faith to the true rest found in Christ and to encourage others in the church to persevere. In Hebrews 7:18 the former regulation "was weak and useless". The law is holy and good (Romans 7:12), but it could neither give the ability to fulfill its demands nor provide the atonement necessary for those who violated it (See: Hebrews 7:19 and Romans 8:2-4).

The NIV Study Bible’s Introduction to the Book of Hebrews says, “The readers are told that there can be no turning back to or continuation in the old Jewish system, which has been superseded by the unique priesthood of Christ. God's people must now look only to him, whose atoning death, resurrection and ascension have opened the way into the true, heavenly sanctuary of God's presence. To "ignore such a great salvation" (Hebrews 2:3) or to give up the pursuit of holiness (Hebrews 12:10, 14) is to face the anger of the "living God" (Hebrews 10:31). Five times the author weaves into his presentation of the gospel stern warnings and reminds his readers of the divine judgment that came to the rebellious generation of Israelites in the desert.” [24]

This "Sabbath rest in Hebrews 3-4 is another type of “rest” besides that Seventh-day Sabbath rest given to Israel, and besides that typical Canaan-rest which most of the Jews fell short of through unbelief; for the Psalmist (Psalms 95) has spoken yet of another day and another rest. The rest of "Today". (See: Appendix A)

It is evident that there is a more excellent and spiritual Sabbath “rest” remaining for the people of God than that into which Joshua led the Jews (Hebrews 4:6-9), and this rest remaining is a rest of grace, comfort, and holiness in the gospel of Christ Jesus. This is the rest where the Lord Jesus, (our Joshua) leads our weary souls into rest and continual refreshing. This is also a rest in God's glory, the everlasting, eternal Sabbath rest of heaven which is grace perfected. Here the people of God will enjoy the fulfillment of their faith and the object of all their desires. Heaven, our eternal "Promised Land". “Today” every Christian can enter into God’s heavenly rest.

“The divine promise still holds good: the believer may enter into God's rest through faith. This is true of both salvation and sanctification. Rest in the Christian life comes through complete reliance on God's promises and full surrender to His will (2 Corinthians 5:7; Colossians 2:6). The word in Hebrews 4:9 (rest) indicates that, just as God ceased from His creative activity on the seventh day (Hebrews 4:4), so believers may cease from working for their salvation and self-reliance in sanctification. And, this Sabbath-rest looks forward to the believers' future rest in heaven.” [25]

Since the First/Old Covenant was abolished according to Hebrews 8:13 and the Ten Commandment law embodied that First Covenant (Exodus 34:27-28; 1 Kings 8:9, 21; Hebrews 9:1-4), why then do some people still try to live under the Old/First Covenant?

In 2 Corinthians 3:2-11, the abolished Old Covenant was the Law of the Ten
Commandments as well as the rest of the entire Mosaic legal system!

2 Corinthians 3:6-11 says of the New "Better" Covenant

2 Corinthians 3:6, "who has made us sufficient to be ministers of a new covenant, not of the letter but of the Spirit. For the letter kills, but the Spirit gives life."

(By the Ten Commandments, the "letter kills")

2 Corinthians 3:7, “But if the ministry of death, in letters engraved on stones, came with glory, so that the sons of Israel could not look intently at the face of Moses because of the glory of his face, fading as it was,”

(The Ten Commandments are called a "ministry of death")

2 Corinthians 3:9, "For if there was glory in the ministry of condemnation, the ministry of righteousness must far exceed it in glory."

(The Ten Commandments called a "ministry of condemnation")

2 Corinthians 3:10-11, "Indeed, in this case, what once had glory has come to have no glory at all, because of the glory that surpasses it. For if what was being brought to an end came with glory, much more will what is permanent have glory."

(The Ten Commandments are said to have "no glory at all”)

There can be no doubt that Paul was talking about the Ten Commandments. It is the law of the Ten Commandments that "fades away" in light of the "glory that surpasses it". The New Covenant makes many changes to the Old Covenant. It is a “New Covenant”. Each covenant has its own laws and regulations that you must live by. We have a new legal contract that is now based on the Law of Christ!

The New Covenant Is The Last Will and Testament of Jesus Christ!

Hebrews 9:15-17, "Therefore he is the mediator of a new covenant, so that those who are called may receive the promised eternal inheritance, since a death has occurred that redeems them from the transgressions committed under the first covenant. For where a will is involved, the death of the one who made it must be established. For a will takes effect only at death, since it is not in force as long as the one who made it is alive."

“In the New Testament only Hebrews makes covenant a central theological theme. The emphasis is on Jesus, the perfect High Priest, providing a new, better, superior covenant (Hebrews 7:22; 8:6). Jesus represented the fulfillment of Jeremiah’s new covenant promise (Hebrews 8:8, 10; 10:16). Jesus was the perfect covenant Mediator (Hebrews 9:15), providing an eternal inheritance in a way the old covenant could not (compare with Hebrews 12:24).

Jesus’ death on the cross satisfied the requirement that all covenants be established by blood (Hebrews 9:18, 20) just as was the first covenant (Exodus 24:8). Christ’s blood established an everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20). If Israel suffered for breaking the Sinai covenant (Hebrews 8:9-10), how much more should people expect to suffer if they have “counted the blood of the covenant, wherewith he was sanctified, an unholy thing” (Hebrews 10:29).” [26]

“In Hebrews 9:16-17, the Greek word (diathēkē) either designates a “will,” the legally binding final directions of the deceased party (cf. “inheritance” in Hebrews 9:15), or it signifies an ancient Near Eastern “covenant,” which required a sacrificial animal in order to be enacted. In either case, a diathēkē (elsewhere translated “covenant” in Hebrews) comes into force only after a death. This implies that the institution of the new covenant actually took place at the time of Christ’s death.” [27]

You Cannot Have Two Wills In Effect At One Time

Jesus was fully aware that the Old Covenant was binding while he lived. Jesus lived and died under the Law of Moses. Thus, he said, “Do not think that I came to abolish the Law or the Prophets; I did not come to abolish but to fulfill.” (Matthew 5:17) This accounts for Jesus keeping the Sabbath day and other parts of the Law of Moses, such as observing the Passover (Matthew 26:17-26) that his church is not required to keep.

Paul Used Marriage As A Type To Illustrate The Keeping Of The Covenants.

Paul used the marriage of a man and women to illustrate the binding nature of one testament at a time.

Romans 7:1-3, "Or do you not know, brothers—for I am speaking to those who know the law—that the law is binding on a person only as long as he lives? For a married woman is bound by law to her husband while he lives, but if her husband dies she is released from the law of marriage. Accordingly, she will be called an adulteress if she lives with another man while her husband is alive. But if her husband dies, she is free from that law, and if she marries another man she is not an adulteress."

The next verse makes the application plain for us.

Paul knew that we cannot be under two conflicting covenants, or laws at the same time. A woman cannot be married to two men at the same time without being guilty of physical adultery. To be married to two men at the same time is adultery and to try to be under two different covenants (or testaments) at the same time is to be guilty of spiritual adultery. One is just as bad as the other!

By Christ's death and resurrection, he cancelled, “the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross.“ (Colossians 2:14)

This is how Paul could say that Jesus abolished the Law of commandments and regulations.

Ephesians 2:15, “by abolishing in his flesh the law with its commandments and regulations. His purpose was to create in himself one new man out of the two, thus making peace,” (NIV)

By His death and resurrection he established the New Covenant that all Christians live under today! Jews and Gentiles, all living together under one - New and “Better” Covenant!

Hebrews 10:9-10, "then he added, “Behold, I have come to do your will.” He does away with the first in order to establish the second. And by that will we have been sanctified through the offering of the body of Jesus Christ once for all."

New Does Not Mean “The Same As” The Old!

The Holy Days Of Judaism And The Entire Ceremonial System
Have Never Applied To The Church!

The New Covenant Has Its Own Legal Code - The Law Of Christ!

Galatians 6:2, "Bear one another’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ."

Romans 7:5-6, "For while we were living in the flesh, our sinful passions, aroused by the law, were at work in our members to bear fruit for death. But now we are released from the law, having died to that which held us captive, so that we serve in the new way of the Spirit and not in the old way of the written code."

1 John 3:21-24, "Beloved, if our heart does not condemn us, we have confidence before God; and whatever we ask we receive from him, because we keep his commandments and do what pleases him. And this is his commandment, that we believe in the name of his Son Jesus Christ and love one another, just as he has commanded us. Whoever keeps his commandments abides in God, and God in him. And by this we know that he abides in us, by the Spirit whom he has given us."

What Is The Law of Christ?

“The phrase "the law of Christ" appears only in Galatians 6:2, although it is implied by the wording of 1 Corinthians 9:21 as well. In both places, its precise meaning is difficult to fix. In Galatians, Paul argues vigorously that the law given at Sinai makes no claim on those who believe in Christ, whether Gentile or Jew (1 Corinthians 2:15-21; Galatians 3:10-14 Galatians 3:23-26; 4:4-5; 4:21-5:6). He then appeals to the Galatians to engage in ethical behavior by walking in the Spirit (Galatians 5:16), being led by the Spirit (Galatians 5:18), and fulfilling "the law of Christ" (ho nomos tou Christou) through bearing one another's burdens (Galatians 6:2).

In 1 Corinthians 9 Paul demonstrates how Christians should refrain from demanding their rights out of love for the weaker brother or sister. Paul illustrates this principle when he says in 1 Corinthians 9:19-23 that he adopts certain Jewish customs when among Jews, although he is not under the Jewish law, and that he adopts some Gentile customs when among Gentiles, although he is not without the law of God but rather "in the law of Christ" (ennomos Christou).

It seems fairly clear from these two texts that Paul uses the phrase to mean something other than the law given to Israel at Sinai and considered by most Jews to be their special possession.

Help is found in the Old Testament prophets. In Isaiah 42:1-4 we read that God's chosen servant will one day establish justice throughout the earth and that "the coastlands will wait expectantly for His law" (NASB). If we take this passage to refer to the Messiah, then we could paraphrase it by saying that the Christ, when he comes, will teach God's law to the Gentiles ("the coastlands"). Jeremiah 31:31-34 similarly predicts the coming of a time in which disobedient Israel will receive a new covenant, consisting of a law written on the heart and therefore obeyed (cf. Ezekiel 36:26-27).

Jesus' teaching, although standing in continuity with the law given at Sinai, nevertheless sovereignly fashions a new law. In some instances Jesus sharpens commandments (Matthew 5:17-48) and in others considers them obsolete (Mark 7:17-19). On one occasion, having been asked to identify the greatest commandment, Jesus concurs with the Jewish wisdom of his time (Mark 12:32-33) that the greatest commandments are to love God supremely and to love one's neighbor as oneself (Mark 12:28-31). He breaks with tradition, however, by defining the term "neighbor" to mean even the despised Samaritan (Luke 10:29-37).

Paul believed that the life, death, and resurrection of Jesus Christ marked the beginning point of God's New Covenant (2 Corinthians 3:1-18; Galatians 4:21-31; cf. Romans 8:2). Like Isaiah, he believed that this covenant included the Gentiles (Galatians 3:7-20), and like Jeremiah he believed that it offered Israel a remedy for the curse that the old Sinaitic covenant pronounced on Israel's disobedience (Galatians 3:10-13). In light of this, Paul may have understood the teaching of Christ as a new law. If so, then the correspondence between the ethical teaching of Jesus and Paul on many points (e.g., 1 Corinthians 7:10-11; Mark 10:2-9; 1 Corinthians 9:14; Luke 10:7; Romans 14:1-23; Mark 7:18-19) is a matter of Paul's intention rather than happy accident. Paul's own admonition to fulfill the law of Christ by bearing one another's burdens provides both a pithy restatement of Jesus' summary of the law and an indication that Jesus' teaching fulfills prophetic expectations.” [28]

As Seen Before, the Sabbath served as a Sign,
not a Seal, for the Old Covenant.

What is the Seal of God in the New Covenant?

John 3:34, "For he whom God has sent utters the words of God, for he gives the Spirit without measure."

2 Corinthians 1:22, "and who has also put his seal on us and given us his Spirit in our hearts as a guarantee."

Ephesians 1:13, "In him you also, when you heard the word of truth, the gospel of your salvation, and believed in him, were sealed with the promised Holy Spirit"

Ephesians 4:30, "And do not grieve the Holy Spirit of God, by whom you were sealed for the day of redemption."

Seventh-day Adventists believe that the Sabbath is the “Seal of God” in the Book of Revelation and the “Mark of the Beast” will become Sunday worship. They are totally confused about the covenants! They try to make a sign of the Old Covenant, the seal of the New Covenant. (See: Appendix B)

Ephesians 4:30 makes it perfectly clear that God “sealed” all true believers to keep them until the "day of redemption". The Holy Spirit is given to all Christians as a “pledge” or “down payment” of our eternal destiny. The New Covenant could not be more clear as to what the "Seal of God" is!

The Holy Spirit is the Seal of God in the New Covenant.

How Do The Jews Refer to The Ten Commandments in The Law of Moses?

In the Torah, the Jews never refer to the Ten Commandments. They are called the Ten Sayings, the Ten Statements, the Ten Declarations, the Ten Words or even the Ten Things, but not ever once as the Ten Commandments. (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13; 10:4).

To the Jews, the 10 sayings are the categories for the entire Law (the Torah). That is why the Jews refer to the 10 sayings as the 10 principles! The 10 Sayings are interwoven with the rest of the Mosaic Covenant! They serve as an outline or framework for the rest of the legal stipulations. In fact, nine of the Ten Commandments are reaffirmed in the New Covenant. Only the Sabbath was not repeated. (See: Appendix C)

The Ten Commandments are guiding principles that refer to general situations, without going into detail: murder, theft, adultery, false witness in court. The fine points — such as what constitutes murder? Is killing in wartime murder? What about killing a fetus to save the mother? — are all worked out in other books of the Torah, 613 laws in all. These are sometimes called the Law of Moses or simply the Law. The only laws that non-Jews are required to observe are the seven Noahide laws, several of which overlap with the Ten Commandments. [29]

The Seven Laws of Noah

God blessed Noah and his sons with the same blessing He had given Adam and Eve, giving them power over all living creatures. Before, they had been allowed to eat only herbs and plants. Now they were allowed to use meat for food, but only after the animal had been killed. To eat flesh torn from a living animal was forbidden. And stern was His decree against the shedder of human blood. Murder was to be punished by death; for could a greater crime be conceived than that of destroying a being created by God in His own image? Other commandments were, the establishment of Courts of justice, the prohibition of blasphemy, indecency, idolatry, and stealing.

Noahide Laws, also called Noachian Laws or the Seven Laws of Noah, a Jewish Talmudic designation for seven biblical laws given to Adam and to Noah before the revelation to Moses on Mt. Sinai and consequently binding on all mankind.

According to Jewish tradition, the first six of these seven laws were given to Adam in the Garden of Eden (the sixth law, to not eat live animals, was extraneous, since Adam did not eat any animals). When God established His covenant with Noah, He added the seventh (and the sixth became applicable). Each of the seven Noahide Laws is seen as a summary of more detailed laws, about 211 total.

According to Judaism, a Gentile does not have to follow the Mosaic Law; however, all Gentiles are obliged to follow the Noahide Laws. The laws given to Noah’s children are universally binding. A non-Jew who abides by the Noahide Laws is considered a “righteous Gentile,” according to Judaism, and will earn a reward in the afterlife, if his obedience is coupled with a knowledge that the laws come from God. A “righteous Gentile” might also be called a “Hasidic Gentile” or simply a “Noahide.”

The Noahide Laws are listed below:

1. Do not deny God (no idolatry). 2. Do not murder. 3. Do not steal. 4. Do not engage in sexual immorality. 5. Do not blaspheme. 6. Do not eat of a live animal (no eating flesh taken from an animal while it is still alive). 7. Establish courts and legal systems to ensure obedience of these laws. [30]

For the Jews, a Gentile was righteous before God if they kept the Seven Laws of Noah. The Seventh-day Sabbath was never something a faithful Jew believed a Gentile was expected to keep. These Seven Laws form the basis for the requirements placed on the Gentile believers at the Jerusalem Council in Acts 15!

The Sabbath and the rest of the Old Covenant symbols served their purpose. They looked forward to their completion when the Christ would come and institute the New Covenant. Our true rest has come! We can now rest in Christ, all day, and every day in worship to Him. No Sabbath other than His “Sabbatical rest” of salvation and trust in him is necessary. (Hebrews 4:1-10)

You can read all of the 613 Laws of the Mosaic Covenant at:
(https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-613-mitzvot-commandments)

Some additional questions for Sabbath-keepers
concerning the New Covenant:

If the term, "the law" always means the 10 commandments, then why is Leviticus called "The Law" in Matthew 22:39, Numbers called "The Law" in Matthew 12:5, Deuteronomy called "The Law" in Matthew 22:37, Psalms called "The Law" in John 10:34, 45, Romans 3:10-12; 3:13-19, the Prophets called "The Law" in 1 Corinthians 14:21 and the Ten Commandments are called "The Law" that is abolished in Romans 7:4-7?
If the term "commandments" always means the 10 Commandments, then why are the laws that are not part of the Ten Commandments but are called commandments in Matthew 19:16-19 not also included?
If the term "commandments" always means the 10 Commandments, then what did Paul call the injunction for prophet's wives to keep silent in the assemblies, a "commandment of the Lord" in 1 Corinthians 14:37?
If the term "keep my commandments" always means the 10 Commandments, then why did Jesus declare a new commandment? John 15:10-12; John 13:34.
If only the Ten Commandments are going to endure until heaven and earth pass away, why did Jesus say all the law and the prophets in Matthew 5:17-18? [31]

In Revelation 12:17; 14:12 (and in some versions, Revelation 22:14) keeping the Commandments is emphasized. The Apostle John was given the visions in the book and we have to see how John uses the different words for “law” and “commandments” to understand his meaning.

Hebrew and Greek Words for Consideration:

Greek Words for Law - entolē & nomos

entolē [fem. noun: ἐντολή <G1785>]; from entellō: to command, which is from en: in, and tellō: to accomplish, to produce > Ordinance, moral and religious precept; also transl.: command, law, order, precept, regulation >

References are often made in the N.T. to the commandments of God transmitted to Moses (Matthew 5:19; 15:3, 6; 19:17; 22:36, 38, 40; Mark 7:8, 9; 10:5, 19; 12:28-31; Luke 1:6; 18:20; 23:56; 1 Corinthians 7:19; Ephesians 2:15; 6:2; Hebrews 7:5, 16, 18; 9:19; Revelation 12:17; 14:12).

The Father gave Jesus a commandment, what He should say and what He should speak (John 12:49).

Jesus has given a new commandment, that we love one another (John 13:34), as He has loved us (John 15:12). He speaks of keeping His commandments (John 14:15, 21; 15:10 a), as He has kept His Father’s commandment (John 15:10 b).

Peter refers to the commandment of the apostles of the Lord (2 Peter 3:2); some mss. have: the commandment of the Lord by the apostles.

In his epistles, John speaks of keeping the commandments of God (1 John 2:3, 4; 3:22, 23, 24; 4:21; 5:2, 3; 2 John 4-5) and walking in them (2 John 6).

Other refs.: Luke 15:29; John 10:18; 12:50; Romans 7:8-13; 13:9; 1 Corinthians 14:37; 1 Timothy 6:14; Titus 1:14; 2 Pet. 2:21; 1 John 2:7-8; Revelation 22:14 in some mss.

Other refs.: John 11:57; Acts 17:15; Colossians 4:10; see COMMAND (noun) <G1785>.

nomos [masc. noun: νόμος <G3551>]; from nemō: to distribute: Rules that allow, restrict, or prohibit individual and institutional behavior > The term describes a law in general (Romans 4:15; 5:13).

Most frequently, it describes the divine law given through Moses, whether it be moral, ceremonial, or judicial (Matthew 5:17, 18; 7:12; 23:23; Luke 2:22; John 7:51; 8:5).

Sometimes it means the books of Moses or the Pentateuch containing the law (Luke 24:44; 1 Corinthians 14:21).

The gospel method of justification is called the “law of faith,” the opposite of the “law of works” (Romans 3:27). The “law of the Spirit of life” is the opposite of the law of sin and death (Romans 8:2).

In James we find the “royal law” (James 2:8). The “perfect law of liberty” (James 1:25; 2:12) frees Christians from the yoke of ceremonial observances and from the slavery of sin; it is opposed to the Mosaic Law which made nothing perfect (Hebrews 7:19; 10:1).

The term also describes a force or principle of action which is equivalent to a law (Romans 7:21, 23, 25; 8:2). (After S. Zodhiates.) [32]

(AMG's Comprehensive Dictionary of New Testament Words) One final note about the words “nomos” and “entolē”. When John speaks about the Law he uses the Greek word “nomos” exclusively. John used “entolē” in Revelation 12:17; 14:12 and Revelation 22:14 to refer to the commandments of God. John uses the Greek word entolē to always mean “ordinance, moral and religious precept or regulation.” John never said that we have to keep the Ten Commandments to be saved under the New Covenant. We are to keep the “precepts”, “commands” and “regulations” of God under the terms of the New Covenant. Each covenant has its own legal structure and all Christians are to live by the “Law of Christ” under the New “Better” Covenant.

Hebrew and Greek Words for Eternal- olam; aionios, aion

Some things are said to be eternal in the Bible. The word for eternal has different meanings in the Hebrew and the Greek languages and we need to understand their uses. Circumcision, the Passover, the Sabbath, the covenants and God’s word are all said to be eternal. (Genesis 17:9-14; Exodus 12:13-14; Exodus 31:13, 17; 1 Chronicles 16:15; Psalms 119:160; Isaiah 40:8) How can something that is said to be “eternal” not last forever?

The word "eternal" is of varying import, both in the Scriptures and out of them.

“Eternal” e-tur'-nal (`olam; aionios, from aion):

1. `Olam:

In the Old Testament, the Hebrew word `olam is used for "eternity," sometimes in the sense of unlimited duration, sometimes in the sense of a cycle or an age, and sometimes, in later Hebrew, in the signification of world. The Hebrew `olam has, for its proper New Testament equivalent, aion, as signifying either time of particular duration, or the unending duration of time in general. Only, the Hebrew term primarily signified unlimited time, and only in a secondary sense represented a definite or specific period. Both the Hebrew and the Greek terms signify the world itself, as it moves in time.

2. Aion, Aionios:

In the New Testament, aion and aionios are often used with the meaning "eternal," in the predominant sense of futurity. The word aion primarily signifies time, in the sense of age or generation; it also comes to denote all that exists under time- conditions; and, finally, superimposed upon the temporal is an ethical use, relative to the world's course. Thus aion may be said to mean the subtle informing spirit of the world or cosmos--the totality of things. By Plato, in his Timaeus, aion was used of the eternal Being, whose counterpart, in the sense-world, is Time. To Aristotle, in speaking of the world, aion is the ultimate principle which, in itself, sums up all existence... In the New Testament, aion is found combined with prepositions in nearly three score and ten instances, where the idea of unlimited duration appears to be meant. This is the usual method of expressing eternity in the Septuagint also. The aionios of 2 Corinthians 4:18 must be eternal, in a temporal use or reference, else the antithesis would be gone.

3. Aidios:

In Romans 1:20 the word aidios is used of Divine action and rendered in the King James Version "eternal" (the Revised Version (British and American) "everlasting"), the only other place in the New Testament where the word occurs being Jude 1:6, where the rendering is "everlasting," which accords with classical usage. But the presence of the idea of eternal in these passages does not impair the fact that aion and aionios are, in their natural and obvious connotation, the usual New Testament words for expressing the idea of eternal, and this holds strikingly true of the Septuagint usage also. For, from the idea of aeonian life, there is no reason to suppose the notion of duration excluded. The word aionios is sometimes used in the futurist signification, but often also, in the New Testament, it is concerned rather with the quality, than with the quantity or duration, of life. By the continual attachment of aionios to life, in this conception of the spiritual or Divine life in man, the aeonian conception was saved from becoming sterile.

4. Enlargement of Idea:

In the use of aion and aionios there is evidenced a certain enlarging or advancing import till they come so to express the high and complex fact of the Divine life in man. In Greek, aiones signifies ages, or periods or dispensations. The aiones of Hebrews 1:2, and Hebrews 11:3, is, however, to be taken as used in the concrete sense of "the worlds," and not "the ages," the world so taken meaning the totality of things in their course or flow.

5. Eternal Life:

Our Lord decisively set the element of time in abeyance, and took His stand upon the fact and quality of life--life endless by its own nature. Of that eternal life He is Himself the guarantee--"Because I live, you shall live also" (John 14:19). Therefore said Augustine, "Join thyself to the eternal God, and thou wilt be eternal." [33]

This is how the New Testament can say that something that was said to be eternal in the Old Covenant has come to an end. The word “eternal” is used in the “sense of a cycle or age”. It has served its purpose and has now met its fulfillment.

In Summary:

The Old Covenant Law Has Come to an End!

The Law had a beginning and an end. The Sabbath had a beginning and an end!

Galatians 3:17 says, "This is what I mean: the law, which came 430 years afterward, does not annul a covenant previously ratified by God, so as to make the promise void."

The Law spoken of here is the Mosaic Covenant. The New Testament writers use this expression for the entire Legal Code that God established for Israel after the exodus. The Ten Commandments are called the covenant because they were the words of the covenant. They served as the framework for the entire legal code.

Exodus 34:27-28 says, "Then the Lord said to Moses, "Write down these words, for in accordance with these words I have made a covenant with you and with Israel." So he was there with the Lord forty days and forty nights; he did not eat bread or drink water. And he wrote on the tablets the words of the covenant, the Ten Commandments."

Deuteronomy 4:13 says, "So He declared to you His covenant which He commanded you to perform, that is, the Ten Commandments; and He wrote them on two tablets of stone."

The Law was first given to Israel alone and no one had this set of laws prior to the establishment of Israel as a nation.

Deuteronomy 5:2-3 says, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today."

The Sabbath began when God established His Covenant with Israel at Mt. Sinai.

The Sabbath was not kept or commanded until God gave it to Israel after the exodus: The Bible is very clear that the patriarchs were never given the Sabbath as a day of rest to be kept.

Deuteronomy 5:2-3 says, "The Lord our God made a covenant with us at Horeb. The Lord did not make this covenant with our fathers, but with us, with all those of us alive here today."

Nehemiah tells us that the Sabbath was made known to Israel at that time. That means no one before that was aware of its meaning. The Sabbath was not given to be kept as a day of rest to anyone until it was given to Israel in the wilderness.

Nehemiah 9:13-14 says, "You came down on Mount Sinai and spoke with them from heaven and gave them right rules and true laws, good statutes and commandments, and you made known to them your holy Sabbath and commanded them commandments and statutes and a law by Moses your servant."

The Old Covenant Predicted the Sabbath Would Be Brought to An End!

Isaiah 1:13 says, "Bring no more vain offerings; incense is an abomination to me. New moon and Sabbath and the calling of convocations— I cannot endure iniquity and solemn assembly."

Lamentations 2:6 says, "He has laid waste his booth like a garden, laid in ruins his meeting place; the LORD has made Zion forget festival and Sabbath, and in his fierce indignation has spurned king and priest."

Hosea 2:11 says, "And I will put an end to all her mirth, her feasts, her new moons, her Sabbaths, and all her appointed feasts."

The New Covenant plainly says that the Sabbath and all the ceremonies of the Old Covenant have ended.

Colossians 2:14-17 says, "by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ."

Ephesians 2:11-16 says, "Therefore remember that at one time you Gentiles in the flesh, called “the uncircumcision” by what is called the circumcision, which is made in the flesh by hands— remember that you were at that time separated from Christ, alienated from the commonwealth of Israel and strangers to the covenants of promise, having no hope and without God in the world. But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility by abolishing the law of commandments expressed in ordinances, that he might create in himself one new man in place of the two, so making peace, and might reconcile us both to God in one body through the cross, thereby killing the hostility."

Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4 says, "“You observe days and months and seasons and years! I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain. . . 21 “Tell me, you who desire to be under the law, do you not listen to the law?’. . . 5:1 For freedom Christ has set us free; stand firm therefore, and do not submit again to a yoke of slavery. Look: I, Paul, say to you that if you accept circumcision, Christ will be of no advantage to you. I testify again to every man who accepts circumcision that he is obligated to keep the whole law. You are severed from Christ, you who would be justified by the law; you have fallen away from grace.“

The Old Covenant was abolished (all of it):

Hebrews 8:13 In speaking of a new covenant, he makes the first one obsolete. And what is becoming obsolete and growing old is ready to vanish away.
The law is weak, useless and makes nothing perfect. (Hebrews 7:18-19)
God has found fault with it and created a better covenant, enacted on better promises. (Hebrews 8:7-8)
It is obsolete, growing old and ready to vanish. (Hebrews 8:13)
It was only a shadow of the good things to come and will never make someone perfect. (Hebrews 10:1)

Bible Covenants:
Each covenant is a standalone, legal contract unless otherwise stated. Each covenant will have its own terms. rules, and regulations.

Terms about the end of the Law and the Old Covenant:

• The Law imprisoned us (Galatians 3:19),
• The Law was only a guardian until Christ came (Galatians 3:24-25),
• We have died to the law through the body of Christ (Romans 7:4),
• The Law arouses our sinful passions (Romans 7:5),
• The Law produces fruit that leads to death (Romans 7:5),
• We have been released from the law (Romans 7:6),
• The Law was the 10 Commandment law (Romans 7:7).
• The Law increases sin which produces death (Romans 7:8),
• The Law has come to an end (Romans 10:4),
• The letter of the Law kills (2 Corinthians 3:6),
• The Law was a ministry of death (2 Corinthians 3:7),
• The Law was a ministry of condemnation (2 Corinthians 3:9),
• The Law had no glory at all (2 Corinthians 3:10),
• The Law was brought to an end (2 Corinthians 3:11),
• The Law had to change (Hebrews 7:12),
• The Law was set aside (Hebrews 7:18),
• The Law is obsolete (Hebrews 8:13),
• The obsolete Law includes the Ten Commandments (Hebrews 9:1, 4).
• The Law was done away with (Hebrews 10:9).

God has had different laws under the different covenants. That is just how it is. Each covenant makes its own laws.

Many things from the Old Covenant Law have plainly changed.
Under the New Covenant, no one is ever commanded to keep:

Seventh-day Sabbath
Circumcision
Dietary restrictions from Leviticus 11
New Moons Celebrations
Holy Days
Annual Feasts
The Levitical Priesthood
Offer Animal Sacrifices

Each covenant is a new legal contract. A contract must have all of its requirements spelled out in the contract. Each Biblical Covenant can use elements of previous covenants, reapply them, omit them completely and give entirely new laws.

Jesus Gave Us the New Covenant to Live By: The New Covenant Is Superior to The Old Covenant in Every Way!

John 1:17, "For the law was given through Moses; grace and truth came through Jesus Christ."

Hebrews 7:22, "This makes Jesus the guarantor of a better covenant."

Hebrews 8:6-7, "But as it is, Christ has obtained a ministry that is as much more excellent than the old as the covenant he mediates is better, since it is enacted on better promises. For if that first covenant had been faultless, there would have been no occasion to look for a second."

Hebrews 12:24, "and to Jesus, the mediator of a new covenant, and to the sprinkled blood that speaks a better word than the blood of Abel."

Hebrews 13:20, "Now may the God of peace who brought again from the dead our Lord Jesus, the great shepherd of the sheep, by the blood of the eternal covenant"

The Old Covenant had a beginning and an end. The Sabbath had a beginning and an end. Neither were eternal.

We live under the New Covenant "Law of Christ" now, not the Old Covenant Law given to Israel! The New Covenant is “Better” than the Old Covenant in every way!

•❅──────✧❅✦❅✧──────❅•

Appendix A:

The Sabbath Rest of Hebrews 4

The rest in Hebrews 4 is said to be a “sabbatismós” (sabbath rest). It is not the Seventh-day Sabbath given to Israel alone. This is a “perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed, uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son in contrast to the weekly Sabbath rest under the Law. It is a divine rest into which the believers enter into their relationship with God - here on earth and in eternity.

The Complete Word Study Dictionary

Greek: “sabbatismós”

σαββατισμός [See Stg: <G4520>]

sabbatismós; gen. sabbatismoú, masc. noun from sabbatízō (n.f.), to keep the Sabbath (Sept.: Exodus 16:30; Leviticus 26:35). A keeping of a Sabbath, a rest as on the Sabbath. In the NT used only of an eternal rest with God (Hebrews 4:9). Therefore, the intimation is that the Sabbath was instituted as a symbol of that eternal rest at the completion of God's work. This rest remains with the people of God and is also called katápausis <G2663>, a cessation from work or causing to cease work, putting to rest, repose. The teaching of the Apostles as to the rest in its relation to the believer's life is confined to two passages, Hebrews 4:1-11 and Revelation 14:13. The basis of the idea is the Divine rest, the rest on which God entered at the completion of His work of creation. Participation in this rest is a divine gift to man. The natural tendency is to conceive rest as mere cessation of work.

In Hebrews 4:9 we have the word sabbatismós, referring to the rest which is going to be enjoyed by the people of God when their earthly work is finished.

However, the word katápausis is used in Hebrews 4:1, 3 (twice), Hebrews 4:5, 10, 11 and also Hebrews 3:11, 18. Since the Jews shared this misapprehension, it was corrected by our Lord in the discourse of John 5:17ff. beginning with the words, “My Father has been working until now, and I have been working." This idea of rest as freedom from further work finds expression in Revelation 14:13; "Blessed are the dead who die in the Lord from now on.' " "Yes," says the Spirit, "that they may rest from their labors, and their works follow them." The word for rest here is anapaúsōntai (TR), the aor. subjunctive of anapaúō <G373>, which means inner rest and refreshment, not due to the cessation of work but to the result of the right performance of work (Matthew 11:28; 1 Peter 4:14). The earthly labors of the Christian's life are ended at death; its "works," i.e., habits, methods, and results abide and remain in the new life.

Hebrews 4:1-11 gives the most exhaustive treatment of this theme. The whole passage may possibly be called a discourse, having for its text the words of Psalm 95:11. "Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest [katápausin]." The rest to which God refers, as quoted by the Psalmist, is the divine rest after creation of which Genesis 2:2 speaks: "And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made." This passage links the idea of divine rest indissolubly with the Sabbath. The writer's argument is briefly as follows: The inspired message in Psalm 95 speaks of a "rest" of God. The Psalmist tells how in the days of Moses this rest lay open to God's people, but they did not enter in through disobedience. Neither then nor at the entry into Canaan under Joshua was the divine idea of rest realized. The Psalmist, in fact, implies that the divine idea still remains unrealized and still awaits fulfillment; and the author of Hebrews, taking the Psalmist's word as the last utterance of the OT on the subject of rest, applies it with confidence to his hearers of the NT epoch. He draws the inference that "there remains therefore a rest [sabbatismós] to the people of God" (Hebrews 4:9).

The word sabbatismós is used here purposely in lieu of katápausis, the word employed throughout the remainder of the passage. It not only denotes the divine rest as a Sabbatic rest, but it links together, in a most suggestive way, the end with the beginning, the consummation with the creation. It implies that the rest which God gives is one which He also enjoys. Just as in the case of salvation, the Christian rest (anápausis [Matthew 11:28]) may be viewed both as a present possession and as a future blessing. On the one hand, we who have believed do enter into that rest (katápausin). Our life of sin has ended and we are enjoying the cessation of sin with the anápausin, the inner joy that we can have while in this life and work till our true katápausis, or cessation of this life, is realized. Therefore we as Christian believers enjoy the anápausin (inner rest) which the Lord gives us while we are here on earth, working and waiting for our katápausin. This is similar to the sabbatismós which the Lord enjoyed and which He promises for his people.

Hebrews 4: The noun sabbatismós, a Sabbath keeping, is used in Hebrews 4:9 to indicate the perpetual Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son in contrast to the weekly Sabbath under the Law. It is a divine rest into which the believers enter in their relationship with God here on earth and in eternity. [34]

The Sabbath rest that God wants us to enter into is the “rest” of faith
by trusting in His completed work of salvation.

An Expositional Study of Hebrews 4:1-12

1 “Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest (katápausin) 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.”

[Israel failed to enter the divine “rest” of faith that God desired for them. Now Christ’s Church has had the Gospel preached to us and God wants us to “rest” in His completed work through faith.]

3 “For we who have believed enter that rest (katápausin) 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.”

4 “For he has somewhere spoken of the seventh day in this way: “And God rested (katápausin) on the seventh day from all his works.”

[This is the “rest” God Himself entered into after He finished His work of creation. God stopped working. The “rest” that God desires for us is to “rest” in His completed work of our salvation.]

5 “And again in this passage he said, “They shall not enter my rest (katápausin).”

6 “Since therefore it remains for some to enter it, and those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience,”

[The Israelites failed to enter into the true “rest” God wanted them to enter. It was not the Seventh-day weekly Sabbath “rest” but a life of complete trust and faith in Him.]

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.”

[David was shown by God the “rest” God wanted for His people. They could enter that “rest” “Today”. Every day we can enter into the “rest” in God’s grace through faith alone.]

8 “For if Joshua had given them rest, (katápausin) God would not have spoken of another day later on.”

[Israel thought the Promised Land was to be a “rest” for them but again, God says they failed to “enter that promised “rest”. Why? Because it was not entered into by faith in God’s perfect salvation.]

9 “So then, there remains a Sabbath rest (σαββατισμός) for the people of God,”

[σαββατισμός - This is a “perpetual” Sabbath rest to be enjoyed uninterruptedly by believers in their fellowship with the Father and the Son in contrast to the weekly Sabbath rest under the Law. It is a divine rest into which the believers enter into through a relationship with God here on earth, and throughout eternity.”]

10 “for whoever has entered God’s rest (katápausin) has also rested (katápausen) from his works as God did from his.”

[This is a “rest” that is moment by moment. Day in and day out. This is a Sabbatical “rest” in full assurance that God has saved us from our sins. We must trust God completely through faith in His work in us, and not by trusting in our own failed works. Jesus, our “Joshua” is our true rest!]

11 “Let us therefore strive to enter that rest (katápausin), so that no one may fall by the same sort of disobedience.”

12 “For the word of God is living and active, sharper than any two-edged sword, piercing to the division of soul and of spirit, of joints and of marrow, and discerning the thoughts and intentions of the heart.”

Hebrews 4 and the Teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church!

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, having to make animal sacrifices for the covering of their sins, and we, as Gentiles, would remain on a fast track to hell!

This is what Ellen G. White said about the
New Testament and the Sabbath Commandment.

... 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. From the Review & Herald, May 16, 1882 paragraph 29.

So when Seventh-day Adventist's quote Luke 14:1-6, etc. as proof of NT Sabbath keeping, they are going against their own prophet's counsel:

This is what Ellen G. White said about the Sabbath rest of Hebrews 4.

After quoting Hebrews 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 Hebrews 4:9-11, p. 928. 2

From Ministry Magazine:

This is a very honest article on how Seventh-day Adventists
should interpret 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 and Hebrews 4. "Whoever enters God's rest also ceases from his labors as God did from his" (Hebrews 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 Hebrews 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 Hebrews 4:9, R.S.V., he uses a different word for rest. "There re mains 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" (Hebrews 4:8, K.J.V.)? This interpretation is not consistent with the con text, 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 (Nehemiah 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 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 3-4 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 Hebrews 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 Hebrews 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" (Matthew 11:28). This is the rest of Hebrews 3-4. 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. [Ministry Magazine: What does Hebrews 4 really say?]

Hebrews 3 and Hebrews 4 are very clear that the “Rest” 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 - if they were faithful - but were not!

This is the eternal rest God offers us from works that begins with and continues, every moment of every day which is “Today”.

"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 Psalms 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. Matthew 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)." [AMG Concise Bible Commentary].

Ellen G White, the Seventh-day Adventist Bible Commentary and Ministry Magazine all agreed, the Sabbath rest of Hebrews 3 & 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 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 Seventh-day Sabbath.

Very Sad!

Appendix B:

Covenants in the Bible; an Outline:

1. Edenic Covenant of Works (Conditional)

God made a conditional covenant with Adam in the Garden of Eden. Adam was supposed to obey all that God commanded of them to earn the right to eat from the tree of life and merit eternal life. Adam rebelled against God and earned death instead and condemnation for himself and all his descendants (Genesis 1:26-30; 2:16-18; Genesis 3). The Edenic Covenant outlined man’s responsibility toward creation and God’s directive regarding the tree of the knowledge of good and evil.

Application: Because all humans come from Adam and were represented by him, they are all under this same covenant and guilty of failing to keep it (Romans 5:12; 1 Corinthians 15:21-22). Because God is holy, you are at enmity with God based on your own imperfect works. Furthermore, because you have a sinful nature due to the corruption resulting from Adam’s fall, you commit more sins that heap more guilt upon you.

2. Adamic Covenant of Grace (Unconditional)

First found in Genesis 3:15 where God promises that a savior will come who will crush the head of the serpent (i.e. Satan). People are saved by God’s grace through faith in Christ alone because of Christ’s perfect keeping of the law and his perfect and complete sacrifice once and for all for sin (Romans 5:12-21; Hebrews 7:27; 10:14).

The Adamic Covenant included the curses pronounced against mankind for the sin of Adam and Eve, as well as God’s provision for that sin

Application: Because you are sinful, you can never keep God’s law perfectly and be pure in order to stand in his presence. Through faith in Christ alone, you are declared righteous in God’s sight, are forgiven of your sins, have peace with your Creator, and have been gifted all the rights and privileges as God’s child for eternity (Ephesians 2:8-9; Romans 5:1; 8:15).

Sign or Seal: a Son

3. The Noahic Covenant (Unconditional)

In the unconditional Noahic covenant, God made a promise to Noah to never again bring a flood to destroy the earth (Genesis 9:1-17). God instituted the Noahic covenant to preserve the earth so that humans would not destroy each other, in order that the savior, Jesus Christ, could come at the appointed time in God’s redemptive plan. God gave the rainbow as the sign of the covenant, a promise that the entire earth would never again flood and a reminder that God can and will judge sin (2 Peter 2:5).

Application: Since Christ has come and done his saving work, God “is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance” (2 Peter 2:9). Jesus will return one day to fully establish his kingdom (Revelation 21-22).

Sign or Seal: Rainbow

4. The Covenant of Abraham (Unconditional)

The covenant of grace is more fully revealed in the covenant of Abraham. God made an unconditional, permanent covenant with Abraham: “‘I will bless those who bless you, and him who dishonors you I will curse, and in you all the families of the earth shall be blessed’” (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 6-7; 13:14-17; 15; 17:1-14; 22:15-18). God fulfilled his promise to Abraham by sending his only begotten Son Jesus to the earth as the Savior of the world to be born in the flesh from a descendant of Abraham (Matthew 1:1-17; Luke 3:23-38; Galatians 3:16).

In this covenant, God promised many things to Abraham. He personally promised that He would make Abraham’s name great (Genesis 12:2), that Abraham would have numerous physical descendants (Genesis 13:16), and that he would be the father of a multitude of nations (Genesis 17:4-5). God also made promises regarding a nation called Israel. In fact, the geographical boundaries of the Abrahamic Covenant are laid out on more than one occasion in the book of Genesis (Genesis 12:7; 13:14-15; 15:18-21). Another provision in the Abrahamic Covenant is that the families of the world will be blessed through the physical line of Abraham (Genesis 12:3; 22:18). This is a reference to the Messiah, who would come from the line of Abraham.

Application: All who receive Christ as Savior are the true heirs of Abraham and have all rights and privileges thereof. Abraham believed God would keep his promise, “and if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise” (Galatians 3:29).

Sign or Seal: Circumcision

5. The Mosaic Covenant (Conditional)

Like the Abrahamic covenant, the Mosaic (old) covenant was part of the covenant of grace but it was temporary in nature. The Mosaic covenant was a conditional agreement between God and the people of Israel that was mediated by Moses (Exodus 19-24). The people of Israel had to fulfill God’s stipulations in this covenant to stay and prosper in the land God had given them. None of the Israelites were ever pure before God through the keeping of this covenant, because it was impossible for anyone to obey it perfectly. They were only declared righteous by faith alone, just as their father Abraham was (Genesis 15:6).

This covenant was extremely important for two reasons: (1) it showed the nation of Israel (and us) the impossibility of keeping God’s law perfectly and the need for a savior and (2) it provided a forum for Christ to come and be the perfect Son of Israel who would obey God’s law perfectly in all things and be the once-for-all, true sacrifice for sin.

The Mosaic Covenant (Deuteronomy 11) was a conditional covenant that either brought God's direct blessing for obedience or God's direct cursing for disobedience upon the nation of Israel. The Mosaic Covenant included the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20) and all of the rest of the Law, which contained 613 total commands—roughly 300 positive and 300 negative. The history books of the Old Testament, Joshua and Esther detail how Israel succeeded at obeying the Law or how Israel failed miserably at obeying the Law. Deuteronomy 11:26-28 details the blessings and cursing’s of the covenant and are expanded and explained in Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28-30.

Application: The Mosaic covenant shows us that, because of indwelling sin, the law is a taskmaster that humans can never appease (Romans 3:19-20). Through faith in Christ, you are declared righteous before God, since Christ’s perfect obedience is counted to you and your sin is counted to Christ (Romans 5:12-21; Hebrews 7:27; 10:14).

Sign: The weekly Seventh-day Sabbath / Seal: Circumcision

6. Palestinian Covenant (Unconditional)

The Palestinian Covenant, or Land Covenant, amplifies the land aspect that was detailed in the Abrahamic Covenant. According to the terms of this covenant, if the people disobeyed, God would cause them to be scattered around the world (Deuteronomy 30:3-4), but He would eventually restore the nation (Deuteronomy 30:5). When the nation is restored, then they will obey Him perfectly (Deuteronomy 30:8), and God will cause them to prosper (Deuteronomy 30:9). In the Palestinian or Land covenant, God promised that Israel would return to him and that he would restore them to the land. Once there, they would become more prosperous than they had ever been before (Deuteronomy 30:1-5). Second, God promised to regenerate the Israelites by circumcising their hearts so that they would love Him. (Deuteronomy 30.6). This will be fulfilled under the New Covenant. Some believe that Deuteronomy 30:1-10 will be ultimately fulfilled eschatologically in the millennial reign of Christ.

Application: Christians have many reasons to support the people of Israel, but this does not mean Christians must agree with every political decision made by the modern Israeli government. Instead, the focus is on God’s spiritual restoration of Israel (Romans 11:26) and the enduring promise to His chosen people. Spiritual Israel will ultimately see all of these promises fulfilled through Christ’s eternal kingdom on earth (Revelation 21-22).

Sign: The weekly Seventh-day Sabbath / Seal: Circumcision
(same as the Mosaic Covenant)

7. The Davidic Covenant (Unconditional)

In 2 Samuel 7, God made a promise that he would raise up David’s offspring and “establish the throne of his kingdom forever” (2 Samuel 7:12-13). God promised unconditionally to put a son of David on the throne, but only the righteous son would reign for eternity. While David’s son Solomon ruled over Israel, he failed to keep God’s commands (1 Kings 9:4-9; 11:4-8). Only David’s descendant Jesus was the true and faithful Son deserving of the everlasting throne of David (Psalms 2; 16; 110). The coming of the true and faithful Son, Jesus the Messiah who would establish David's kingdom forever (Isaiah 9:6, 7; Luke 1:32, 33).

Application: Unlike mere human rulers who disappoint us with their failure to rule justly, Jesus obeyed God in all things—even giving his own life out of his love for the world—and earned the right to rule in glory forever (John 3:16; 1 Kings 2:35; Revelation 11:15). You can take comfort in knowing that the resurrected Christ is the one righteous King who has not only secured eternal life for all believers but will also put an end to all injustice and evil one day (Revelation 21:4).

Sign or Seal: David’s descendant will sit on the Eternal Throne

8. The New Covenant (Unconditional)

The new covenant ushered in the new creation. This covenant is new in relationship to the old (Mosaic) covenant, but both are part of the Abrahamic covenant. While Moses was the mediator of the old covenant between God and the nation of Israel, Christ is the mediator of the new covenant between God and believers through his finished work of redemption in his life, death, and resurrection. While the old covenant required national obedience, the new covenant requires personal faith in Christ, the perfectly obedient Son of Israel (Jeremiah 31:31-34; Matthew 26:28; Galatians 3:16-18). The New Covenant is a covenant made first with the nation of Israel and, ultimately, with all mankind. In the New Covenant, God promises to forgive sin, and there will be a universal knowledge of the Lord. Jesus Christ came to fulfill the Law of Moses (Matthew 5:17) and create a new covenant between God and His people. Now that we are under the New Covenant, both Jews and Gentiles can be free from the penalty of the Law. We are given the opportunity to receive salvation as a free gift (Ephesians 2:8-9).

The New Covenant was given to all nations, tribes and peoples. (Luke 22:20; Romans 11:27; 1 Corinthians 11:25; 2 Corinthians 3:6; 2 Corinthians 3:14; Hebrews 7:22; Hebrews 8:6, 7; 12:24; 13:20) The Gospel Commission was given by Jesus himself and included all who put their trust and salvation in his hands. (Matthew 28:18-20; Romans 6:3-4; Revelation 5:9) The Blood of Jesus Christ covers any and all who accept him. The New Covenant is “Better” in every way.

Application: While the New Covenant requires faith in Christ, this faith itself is a gift from God, given to all who trust in Christ as their Savior (John 1:12; Ephesians 2:8-9). As a Christian, you can rejoice that you have peace with God (Romans 5:1), eternal life (Romans 6:23), are indwelt by the Holy Spirit (1 Corinthians 3:16), and are being conformed to Christ’s image. (Romans 8:29).

Signs: Baptism and the Lord’s Supper: Seal: The Indwelling Holy Spirit

9. The Covenant of Redemption / Eternal Covenant (Unconditional)

Without the covenant of redemption, the only other covenant in this list that could exist is the first one: the covenant of works. The covenant of redemption was established before creation and is the pact between the persons of the Trinity in which the Father sends the Son to do the work of redemption, the Son submits to the Father’s will, and the Holy Spirit applies the benefits of the Son’s accomplished work to believers (Psalm 40:6-8). As a reward for his obedience, the Father gifts the Son with glory and an everlasting kingdom (Psalm 110; Isaiah 53; Zechariah 6:12-13; John 17:1-5). This is often called the Eternal Covenant.

Details: Separate role of each member of the Trinity:

In this covenant God the Father and the Son made an agreement with regard to the elect. This covenant was made before the universe was created and it consisted of the Father promising to bring to the Son all whom the Father had given Him (John 6:39; 17:2, 9, 24), to send the Son to be the representative of the people (John 3:16; Romans 5:18-19), to prepare a body for the Son (Colossians 2:9; Hebrews 10:5), and to give the Son all authority in heaven and earth (Matthew 28:18).

The Son would become man (Colossians 2:9; 1 Timothy 2:5), become for a while lower than the angels (Hebrews 2:7), and be found under the Law (Galatians 4:4-5). The Son would die for the sins of the world (1 John 2:2; 1 Peter 2:24) and the Father would raise the Son from the Dead (Psalms 2).

The Holy Spirit would empower Jesus to do the will of the Father and Christ's ministry on earth (Matthew 3:16; Luke 4:1, 18; John 3:34), and to apply the redemptive work of Christ to Christians (John 14:16-17; John 14:26; Acts 1:8; 2:17-18).

Normally, covenants are made between those of different authority levels such as a king and a subject. But in the Eternal Covenant, all the parties involved (the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit) are equals.

Application: If the persons of the Trinity didn’t make this pact—and keep it—we would all be under God’s condemnation without any hope for meeting his holy standards. God did not have to save any of us from the consequences of our sin, but he did so out of his unfathomable love (Romans 3:23-26). Don’t depend on your own imperfect works to be right before God; instead, believe in and receive Jesus Christ as your Savior today. [35]

(See a graphical presentation of the covenants)

Appendix C:

The Nation of Israel and the People of God in History

The Biblical covenants in Scripture progressively unfold God’s kingdom
purpose in history, culminating in the New “Eternal” Covenant. (Matthew 6:10)

Promises To Israel Are Based On The Divine Covenants:

Abrahamic Covenant:

Promises first given to Abraham. (Genesis 12:1-3; Genesis 13:14-18; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 17:2-7)
God gave Abraham circumcision as a “sign” of their Covenant (Genesis 17:9-14)
The Abrahamic Covenant was based on faith alone. The Abrahamic Covenant is what defines true Israel as God’s people in all ages. (Genesis 15:1-21; Genesis 22:15-18; Genesis 26:1-6; Genesis 28:10-15; Isaiah 51:1-3; Acts 3:8, 16, 25, 26; Romans 4; Galatians 3; Hebrews 11:8, 17)

The Mosaic Covenant Compared To The Abrahamic Covenant:

The Mosaic Covenant is different from the Abrahamic Covenant. (Deuteronomy 5:2-3)
The Abrahamic Covenant is unconditional. It did not depend on the obedience of the Israelites. The Mosaic Covenant is conditional on Israel's obedience. (Galatians 3:15-18)
Mosaic Covenant—a covenant of works. God's holy requirements cannot be ignored. (Exodus 19:5-6)
Abrahamic Covenant—a covenant of promise (No requirements are mentioned; God will unconditionally bless Israel.)
The Mosaic Covenant did not replace the Abrahamic Covenant. (Galatians 3:17-19)
The Mosaic Covenant can be interrupted by disobedience (Deuteronomy 28:15); the Abrahamic Covenant cannot be interrupted. (Leviticus 26:42-45; Micah 7:18-20)
The Abrahamic covenant, although it included obligations, stressed God’s promise. The Sinaitic covenant, although it included mercy and promises, stressed human responsibilities. Moses told the people the laws, and the people said, “Everything the Lord has said we will do” (Exodus 24:3). And Moses wrote it all down.

Mosaic Covenant:

God makes the Sabbath known for the first time to Israel on their way to receive the Law (Exodus 16:22-26).
The Old Testament tells us that no one had kept the Sabbath before Israel did and only after the Exodus (Exodus 20:12, 20; Deuteronomy 5:2-6; Nehemiah 9:13-14)
Israel took an oath 430 years after God entered into covenant with Abraham, accepting God as their sovereign king and became subject to His divine authority. (Exodus 19:5-8; Exodus 24:3-8; Deuteronomy 7:6-14; c.f. Galatians 3:17)
The Law of Moses is the whole body of the mosaic legislation including the Ten Commandments and the rest of the 613 laws of the Old Covenant. (Exodus 34:27-28; Deuteronomy 4:13; Deuteronomy 9:9; 1 Kings 2:3; 2 Kings 23:25; Ezra 3:2; Heb. Torah: Deuteronomy 1:5; Deuteronomy 4:8 Deuteronomy 4:44-45; Deuteronomy 5:31; Deuteronomy 17:14-20; Deuteronomy 27:3-8; 2 Kings 14:6; Isaiah 8:20; Joshua 24:26)
The Covenant God made with Israel was a Hittite, Suzerainty-Vassal covenant type that was conditional on Israel’s faithful response to do all that the LORD had commanded them to do. (Exodus 19-24; Exodus 19:5-6; Deuteronomy 28-31; Leviticus 26)
God gave to Israel circumcision (Genesis 17:9-14; c.f. Exodus 4:26; Exodus 12:44-48; Leviticus 12:3; Deuteronomy 10:12-16; Deuteronomy 30:6), the Passover (Exodus 12:13-14) and the Sabbath (Exodus 31:13, 17) as “signs” of the covenant to be kept “throughout [their] generations”.
The Ten Commandments formed the core of this covenant. “The words of the covenant — the Ten Commandments” — were written on tablets of stone (Exodus 34:28). Although the covenant was equated with the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28; Deuteronomy 4:13), the covenant included all of Exodus 20-23. The Lord wrote “the law and commands I have written for their instruction” (Exodus 24:12).
The tablets of stone were called the “tablets of the covenant” (Deuteronomy 9:9, 11, 15; Hebrews 9:4). They were placed in the ark of the covenant (Exodus 25:16, 21; 31:18), thus giving a name to the ark, and the covenant was said to be inside the ark (1 Kings 8:21; 2 Chronicles 6:11).
The Covenant had both blessings and curses to be implemented depending on Israel's faithful response to God's commands. (Deuteronomy 28-30; Leviticus 26)
This Mosaic Covenant continued in force until the leaders of the nation formally rejected Jesus as their Messiah and declared to Pilate that they had, “no other king but Caesar” (Matthew 21:43-45; 23:36-38)
The Old or Mosaic covenant is a legally binding, conditional covenant that God made with Israel on Mount Sinai. This covenant was brought to an end and was fulfilled at the cross. (Exodus 19:5-8; Galatians 3:24-25)
It was never intended to save people, but instead its purpose was to demonstrate the inability of even God's own chosen people to eradicate sin and guilt until the coming of the Messiah. The Law revealed God’s righteousness. The sacrifices revealed His grace. (Romans 6:14; Galatians 1:1-14; Galatians 3:10-13; Galatians 3:24-25; Galatians 4:21; Galatians 5:1, 13; 2 Corinthians 3:7-18; Hebrews 10:1-4; Hebrews 9:11-28; Galatians 3:21)
Israel, under the Mosaic covenant, was the physical fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant, a foreshadowing of the superior New Covenant of grace to come. (Galatians 3:16, 17, 18, 21; Jeremiah 31:31-34; Hebrews 8)

Under The Covenant Relationship, Israel Pledged Themselves To Obey God In All Things: (Exodus 19:1-8; 24:3-8)

Upon Israel’s faithfulness, God would give to them the land of Palestine as their inheritance. (Genesis 15:18; Deuteronomy 1:7-8)
Israel would be endowed with unique physical, intellectual and material blessings designed to make them the greatest nation on the face of the earth. (Exodus 15:26; Deuteronomy 7:12-15; Deuteronomy 4:6)
God promised Israel greater skill in cultivating the soil that would restore their land to the fertility and beauty of Eden, and bring prosperity to their flocks and herds. (Deuteronomy 7:13; 28:3-12; Isaiah 51:3; Malachi 3:10-11)
As a result of their faithfulness, Israel would enjoy unparalleled prosperity and reach the highest standard of living of any nation. (Deuteronomy 8:18; Deuteronomy 28:11-13)
They would become the greatest nation on the face of the earth. (Deuteronomy 4:6-8; Deuteronomy 7:14; Deuteronomy 28:1-2; Deuteronomy 28:10-13; Jeremiah 33:9; Malachi 3:12)
With their wholehearted cooperation with the revealed will of God and their best efforts, God would give Heaven's richest blessings. (Deuteronomy 4:9; Deuteronomy 28:1; Deuteronomy 13-14; Deuteronomy 30:9-10)
The Promised Land, also known as "The Land of Milk and Honey" is the land which, according to the Tanakh (the Hebrew Bible), was promised and subsequently given by God to Abraham and his descendants. The promise was first made to Abraham (Genesis 15:18-21), then confirmed to his son Isaac (Genesis 26:3), and then to Isaac's son Jacob (Genesis 28:13), Abraham's grandson.
The Promised Land was described in terms of the territory from the River of Egypt to the Euphrates river (Exodus 23:31). A smaller area of former Canaanite land and land east of the Jordan River was conquered and occupied by their descendants, the Israelites, after Moses led the Exodus out of Egypt (Numbers 34:1-12).
This occupation was interpreted as God's fulfillment of the promise (Deuteronomy 1:8). Moses anticipated that God might subsequently give the Israelites land reflecting the boundaries of God's original promise, if they were obedient to the covenant (Deuteronomy 19:7-10; Joshua 21:43).
The law anticipates the enlargement of Israel’s land (Deuteronomy 12:20) and thus the need for further cities of refuge to ensure accessibility. Moses takes every opportunity to remind the people that God’s promises of land obligate Israel to obedience (Deuteronomy 19:9). That these further three cities were never appointed in the Old Testament shows Israel’s lack of obedience.

Israel Was To Be A Living Example And Witness To The Whole World:

The world would see the infinite superiority of the worship and service to the true God of Israel, Yahweh! (Deuteronomy 4:6-9; Deuteronomy 7:12-15; Deuteronomy 28:1-13; Isaiah 49:3-7; Isaiah 61:9; Isaiah 62:1-2)
One by one the nations would unite with Israel in serving Yahweh. (Isaiah 2:2-3; Isaiah 11:10; Isaiah 14:1; Isaiah 19:18-22; Isaiah 45:14; Isaiah 55:5; Isaiah 56:3-8; Isaiah 60:1-12; Jeremiah 3:17; Jeremiah 16:19; Jeremiah 33:9; Zechariah 2:11; Zechariah 8:20-23)

Israel Forfeited Possession Of The Land Of Canaan Due To Apostasy:

The nation went into captivity and spent 70 years as captives in Babylon! (Deuteronomy 28:63-65; Joshua 24; Judges 2:1-3; Judges 2:11-18; 2 Chronicles 36:14-17; Isaiah 5:1-7; Jeremiah 25:5-11; Jeremiah 29:7-19; Jeremiah 32:21-23; Ezekiel 7:2-9; Ezekiel 12:3-28; Ezekiel 20:28; Ezekiel 20:35-38; Ezekiel 21:25-32; Ezekiel 36:18-23; Micah 2:10; Hosea 9:3, 15)
Divine curses come from disobeying the law (Deuteronomy 28:15-19; See also: Leviticus 26:14-39; Deuteronomy 11:26-28; Deuteronomy 27:9-26; Deuteronomy 28:20-68; Deuteronomy 29:18-21; Jeremiah 11:2-4; 11:8; Daniel 9:11-14; Galatians 3:10)
They were to learn from adversity what they could have learned in blessing and prosperity. (Jeremiah 25:5-7; Jeremiah 46:28; Ezekiel 20:35-38)

Israel Is Restored To the Land Of Canaan After The Exile:

God renews the covenant with Israel and promises that they can still see all the blessings come to pass if they would be loyal to him. (Jeremiah 31:3-38; Jeremiah 33:3-26; Ezekiel 36:8-11; Ezekiel 36:21-38; Ezekiel 43:10-11; Micah 4:8-12; Zechariah 1:17; Zechariah 2:12; Zechariah 6:15; Zechariah 10:6)
All the O.T. Promises looking forward to a time of restoration for the Jews as God's covenant people anticipate their return from Babylonian captivity. (Isaiah 14:1-7; Isaiah 27:12-13; Isaiah 44:28-45:4; Jeremiah 16:14-16; Jeremiah 23:3-8; Jeremiah 25:11; Jeremiah 29:10-14; Jeremiah 30:3-12; Jeremiah 32:37-44; Ezekiel 34:11-16; Ezekiel 34:37; Amos 9; Micah 2:12-13)
Ezra describes the rebuilding of the temple. (Ezra 3-6). The temple was completed and dedicated in 516 B.C., exactly seventy years after it was destroyed!
The Babylonian captivity would not make a complete end to Israel's role as God's covenant people. (Jeremiah 4:27; Jeremiah 5:18; Jeremiah 46:28)
In the covenant “Blessings and Curses”, God promised to bring Israel back to the Promised Land from any future captivity. (Deuteronomy 30; Deuteronomy 30:1-10; Leviticus 26:44-45)
God continues to warn Israel about future covenant curses if they continued in their unfaithfulness. (1 Kings 14:15; 2 Kings 17:7-8; 2 Kings 17:18-20; Psalm 78:10-11; 40-42; Psalm 78:56-62; Jeremiah 32:30; Amos 9:8)
God gives Daniel a vision of the coming world kingdoms that would be destroyed by God's everlasting kingdom. (Daniel 2-12)
A probationary period of 490 years was allotted to Israel in which to measure up to God's purpose for them as a nation. (Daniel 9:20-23; Daniel 9:24-27; Jeremiah 12:14-17)
This time period would culminate with the coming of the Messiah and the establishment of his Kingdom.

God's Intention Towards The Gentiles In The Old Testament:

God did distinguish the Israelites by setting them apart as his own nation (Leviticus 20:24-26), yet his reason for doing so was not to play favorites, but to benefit everyone (Genesis 18:18; 22:18).
The Israelites were intended to be an example to others, so that everyone would hear about God and be saved. When other nations witnessed or heard about Israel's history - that is, their relationship with God and God's actions on their behalf - those nations would hear about God and have reason to believe in him. (Isaiah 60:1-5; Zechariah 8:20-23; Zechariah 14:9; cf. Romans 11:26-29)
God performed the miracles in Egypt and during the Exodus for this reason (Exodus 9:16; Joshua 4:23-24), and they did cause people in other nations to revere God (Joshua 2:8-11).
Throughout the Old Testament there are pointers to God's global vision. The Psalms often refer to God as the God of all nations (Psalms 47:8-9; 99:2) They prophesy that all nations will worship God (Psalms 86:9) and call on them to worship him in the present (Psalms 47:1; Psalms 117:1).
Other Psalms speak of God revealing himself to all nations (Psalms 98:2; Psalms 67), through his deeds and through the Israelites praising him to other nations (Psalms 9:11; Psalms 96:3, 10; Psalms 105:1). Several passages in Isaiah also talk about God's plans to include the Gentiles (Isaiah 42:6; Isaiah 49:6; Isaiah 56:7; Isaiah 66:19)
The laws given to the Israelites were also meant to get the world's attention (Deuteronomy 4:6) and included several provisions for Gentiles.
God loved the Gentiles and provided for them (Deuteronomy 10:18), and instructed the Israelites to love foreigners as themselves (Leviticus 19:33-34; Deuteronomy 10:19), particularly because they had been foreigners in Egypt.
This included providing for needy immigrants (Leviticus 23:22; Deuteronomy 24:19-22) and not mistreating or oppressing them (Exodus 23:9; Deuteronomy 24:14-18; Deuteronomy 27:19) but treating them equally under the law (Numbers 15:15-16; Leviticus 24:22).
Those who became followers of God would be Israelites in God's view (Jeremiah 12:16) and could participate in Passover (Exodus 12:48-49).

The Kingdom Forfeited In The Rejection Of The Messiah!

When the appointed time came His people “received him not.” (John 1:11)
Three days before his crucifixion, Jesus pronounced Heaven's verdict on the Jewish nation. (Matthew 21:43-45; Matthew 23:27-39; Luke 21:1-28)
When the Jews rejected the Messiah, their rejection as God's covenant people was permanent and irrevocable. (Jeremiah 12:14-17; Jeremiah 18; Jeremiah 26:1-6; Daniel 9:26-27)
God would still fulfill his promise to bring the Gentiles into a saving relationship with him. (Isaiah 60:1-5; Zechariah 8:20-23; Zechariah 14:9; cf. Romans 11:26-29)

God’s Land Promise to Abraham:

God promised the land of Canaan to Abraham and his descendants: (Genesis 12:5-7; Genesis 13:14-15; Genesis 15:18; Genesis 26:1-4; Genesis 28)

God fulfilled his promises to Abraham through Israel: (Numbers 35:13; Deuteronomy 19:1-2; Deuteronomy 19:8-9; Joshua 20:1-7; Joshua 21:43-45; Judges 2:20-23; Nehemiah 9:8-9; 1 Kings 4:21) Their promised land inheritance was conditional upon their faithfulness to the Mosaic covenant. (Jeremiah 12:14-17; Jeremiah 18; Jeremiah 26:1-6; Daniel 9:26-27)

The Conditional Nature of the Old Covenant:

The Mosaic Covenant was conditional upon Israel's faithful response to the covenant given at Sinai. (Leviticus 26; Deuteronomy 28:15, 63, 64; Deuteronomy 30:17-18)

God Made Three Major Promises to Abraham.

God promised Abraham a great Nation. God promised his descendants would be as the sand of the seashore and the stars of the heavens (Genesis 22:17) God promised Abraham that his family would possess the Land where he lived as a stranger. (Genesis 12:7). Finally, God promised Abraham that his SEED or descendant after him would bless all nations. (Genesis 22:18)

When Were these Promises Fulfilled?

God fulfilled the "Nation" promise when Abraham's family grew rapidly in Egypt and then entered into a covenant with them at Sinai (Exodus 1:7; 19:3-6). He fulfilled the Land promise when Joshua led the people on the conquest of Canaan and then divided up the land (Joshua 21:43-45). And then God fulfilled the Seed promise in his Son, Jesus Christ. (Acts 3:25-26)
All the promises made to Abraham were either fulfilled or will be fulfilled in Jesus. The Nation promised to Abraham is not just the physical nation that came from him but all of those who are Abraham's spiritual descendants (Galatians 3:7-9; 3:29). Jesus was the "seed" promised to Abraham. (Galatians 3:16-17)
Just as Joshua brought the people in to take the Land, (our Joshua (Jesus) is bringing us into the promised rest in the Land God has prepared for his people. (Joshua 14:1; Hebrews 4:1-10).

The Kingdom Is Transferred To The Church! (Jews and Gentiles Are Equal Participants)

New Covenant:

The New Covenant church is the eschatological fulfillment of Israel as God's covenant people and as his representatives on earth. (Matthew 28:19-20; Acts 10:34-35; Romans 2:28-29; Romans 9:24-26; Romans 9:30-31; Romans 10:12-13; 2 Corinthians 5:18-20; Galatians 3:9; Galatians 3:27-29; 1 Peter 2:9-10) Just as Israel was the people of God in the Old Testament, so the church (made up of both Jew and Gentile) is the people of God in the New Testament.
The New Covenant is the promised everlasting covenant (Hebrews 13:20) established by Christ Jesus (Luke 22:20; Daniel 9:26-27) that fulfills all preceding biblical covenants - a covenant in which all believers have full forgiveness of sins (Jeremiah 31:34), are permanently indwelt by the Holy Spirit (Ezekiel 36:25-27; Ephesians 1:13-14; Ephesians 4:30), and are empowered by the Spirit to live a life that is pleasing to God (Jeremiah 31:31-33; Philippians 2:12-13).

The New Covenant is the spiritual fulfillment of the Abrahamic covenant. The New Covenant came into effect with ministry of Jesus, at the Last Supper when Jesus said in Luke 22:20 "This cup is the new covenant in my blood, which is poured out for you."

The People of God are God’s elect community, consisting of believing Jews and Gentiles (Ephesians. 2:15), first formed as the body of Christ, which is the Church, at Pentecost (Acts 1:4-5; 2:1-41), not before (John 7:39; 17:21; Colossians 1:26-27; Hebrews 11:39-40), as one corporate spiritual body in New Covenant union with Christ (1 Corinthians 12:13; Ephesians 2:19-21; Colossians 1:18-24)

Jews and Gentiles alike find salvation as believers in Christ and not as physical descendants of Abraham. (Acts 10:34, 35; Acts 15:9, 11; Romans 9:6; Romans 11:1-2; Romans 11:11-15; Romans 2:22-26; Ephesians 2:11-19; 3:6; Ephesians 4:3-6; Colossians 3:10, 11)

Nine of the Ten Commandments are reaffirmed in the New Covenant after the resurrection of Jesus. Only the Sabbath command is not reaffirmed because it was a “sign” for the nation of Israel alone. (Commandment #1 - 1 Corinthians 8:4-6; Commandment #2 - 1 John 5:21, Romans 1:22-23; Acts 17:29; Revelation 21:8; Commandment #3 - James 5:12; 1 Timothy 6:1; Commandment #4 - Colossians 2:14-17; Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Romans 14; {The Fourth Commandment was never repeated in the New Covenant} Commandment #5 - Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20; Commandment #6 - Romans 13:9, Revelation 21:8; Commandment #7 - Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8; Commandment #8 - Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28; Titus 2:10; Commandment #9 - Romans 13:9, Revelation 21:8; Commandment #10 - Romans 7:7, Romans 13:9).

Baptism is the outward sign that regeneration has occurred. It is a special ordinance that signifies that you have been spiritually born into the believing people of God (a new creation), the church. It is given to all those who give evidence of regeneration, which is repentance and faith. Baptism carries with it a picture of Christ's death and resurrection. (Matthew 3:11; Matthew 3:13; Matthew 28:19; Mark 10:39; Mark 16:16; John 1:33; John 3:22; John 3:26; Acts 2:38; Acts 2:41; Acts 8:36; Acts 10:47; Acts 10:48; Colossians 2:12)

The Lord's Supper, commonly referred to as "communion," is the special ordinance that the Lord Himself instituted while He was still on earth. This ordinance of communion commemorates and typifies the suffering and death of the Lord Jesus Christ. (Matthew 26:26-28; Mark 14:22-24; Luke 22:19-20; John 6:53; Romans 11:27; 1 Corinthians 10:16; 11:23-25)

The day that the church met for worship, the Lord’s Supper and giving was the First day of the week. It came to be known as the “Lord’s Day”. The New Covenant believer is not required to keep the Sabbath or any of the other special days or ceremonies of the Old Covenant. (Matthew 28:1, 9, 17; Luke 24:1, 52; Galatians 4:10-11; Colossians 2:14-17; Acts 15; Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:1-3; Revelation 1:10) The Lord’s Day is not a new Sabbath!

No required amount or percentage for giving to the Lord's work is specified in the New Testament. All giving to the Lord is to be free will giving and completely discretionary (Luke 6:38; 1 Corinthians 16:1-2; 2 Corinthians 8-9). This is not to be confused with the Old Testament requirement of paying tithes (Leviticus 27:30; Numbers 18:21-26; Deuteronomy 14:28-29; Malachi 3:8-10)

N.T. Writers often reinterpret O.T. Prophecies regarding Israel in light of the new historical setting, applying them to the church. (Acts 2:17-21; Acts 15:15-17; Romans 9:25-29; 1 Corinthians 9:9-10; Galatians 3:11, 16; Galatians 4:22-31; Hebrews 4:1-10; Hebrews 8:8-13; 1 Peter 2:9-10)
The Kingdom of God: The everlasting reign of God over the universe and His people, progressively unfolded via the biblical covenants - ultimately realized in the messianic reign of Jesus Christ in heaven with His saints (Hebrews 1:1-4; Revelation 20:4; Ephesians 2:6), that was eschatologically inaugurated at His ascension (Daniel 7:13-14) in fulfillment of the Biblical Covenants (2 Samuel 7:12-16; Acts 2:25-36).

It is advanced through the Spirit-empowered preaching of the Gospel (Acts 1:7-8), and will be consummated in the new heavens and new earth after the Second Coming when Christ subdues all His enemies (1 Corinthians 15:24-28).

We believe that the Lord Jesus Christ will return in glory. He will raise the dead and judge the world in righteousness. The wicked will receive eternal damnation and the righteous will receive a life of eternal joy in fellowship with God in the new creation. God will make all things new and will be glorified forever. (Matthew 24:30, 44; Acts 1:11; 1 Thessalonians 4:16; Revelation 1:7; 22:20; Acts 17:30; Romans 2:5; 14:10, 12; 2 Corinthians 5:10; 2 Timothy 4:1; Revelation 20:11-13; 21:3-4; 22:3-5; Matthew 25:30, 41, 46; Mark 9:43, 48; Luke 16:22-24; Romans 8:21; 1 Corinthians 15:54-57; Revelation 14:11; 21:1; Matthew 13:43, 49; 24:30-31; Mark 9:43, 48; Acts 3:21; Romans 6:23; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; 1 Thessalonians 4:13-18; Hebrews 9:28; 1 John 4:17; Revelation 1:7; 20:11-12; 21:23)

The Purpose Of The Mosaic Law And How It Has Been Superseded By Christ!

The Law of Moses: The covenantal outworking of God’s absolute law under the Old Covenant - the exhaustive, indivisible (James 2:10; Galatians 5:3) legal code, summed up in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 34:28), covenantally binding upon the Nation of Israel (Exodus 19:5-6; 24:3), temporary in its duration (Hebrews 7:11-12; Colossians 2:14), and fulfilled in Jesus Christ (Romans 10:4; Matthew 5:17-18; Colossians 2:16-17);
The Mosaic Law was not for Gentiles (Romans 2:14-15, Romans 9:3-5; 1 Corinthians 9:20-21).
The Mosaic Law’s purpose was to reveal sin, not to justify (Romans 3:19-20; Romans 7:7; Galatians 3:19-22; 1 Timothy 1:8-11; Hebrews 7:11-19) and to lead Israel and us to Christ.
To expose man's sinfulness (Galatians 3:19; Romans 5:20; Romans 7:5-7; Romans 8:7)
To produce death (Romans 5:20-21; Romans 7:5) (so we can see our need for God's grace and Christ's life)
To watch over us until we are made new in Christ (Galatians 3:23-25)
The Mosaic Law is not for the Church, the body of Christ. Christians are not under the authority of the Mosaic Law (Romans 6:14-15; Romans 7:1-6; Romans 10:4; Galatians 3:23-26; Galatians 4:21-31; Galatians 5:1-4; Galatians 5:18).
None of ceremonial aspects of the Mosaic Covenant are required of the New Covenant believer. (Colossians 2:14-17; Ephesians 2:15; Galatians 3; Hebrews 8:7-13; Romans 14:5; Galatians 4:9-11; Acts 15)
Christians are under grace, not Law (Romans 6:14; Galatians 5:18) and called to liberty (Galatians 5:1, 13). Love is to be the operative motivation for the believer (Galatians 5:13-14) and the believer is to conduct his life under the control of the Holy Spirit (Romans 8:4; Galatians 5:16).
These elements combined to form what Paul called the “Law of Christ” (Galatians 6:2) and the “law of God” (Romans 7:22-25; Romans 8:7)
The Law of Christ: The covenantal outworking of God’s absolute law under the New Covenant - the gracious law of the New Covenant (Romans 6:14), which is covenantally binding upon the Church (1 Corinthians 9:20-21) and consists of the law of love (Matthew 5:44; Galatians 6:2; James 2:8; Romans 13:8-10), the example of the Lord Jesus Christ (John 13:34; Philippians 2:4-12), Christ’s commands and teaching (Matthew 28:20; 2 Peter 3:2).
The commands and teachings of the New Testament Gospels and Epistles (2 Peter 3:2; Ephesians 2:20; Jude 1:17; 1 John 5:3), and all Scripture interpreted in light of the ministry of Jesus Christ (Matthew 5:17-18; Luke 24:27, 44; 2 Timothy 3:16-17).

Nowhere in the New Testament does it say that literal Israel will be restored to covenant privileges outside of the New Covenant promises given to the Church. Galatians 3:26-29 says, “for in Christ Jesus you are all sons of God, through faith. For as many of you as were baptized into Christ have put on Christ. There is neither Jew nor Greek, there is neither slave nor free, there is no male and female, for you are all one in Christ Jesus. And if you are Christ’s, then you are Abraham’s offspring, heirs according to promise.”

Many of the O.T. promises to Israel that were unfulfilled will never be fulfilled through Israel as a nation. The promises such as those affirming Israel's worldwide mission, the ingathering of the Gentiles and those pointing forward to the eternal rest in Canaan can never be fulfilled. They were conditional upon Israel's faithful response to the Old (Mosaic) Covenant.

The other promises that will be fulfilled through the New Covenant Church as the new, spiritual Israel, will be done so in principle - but not necessarily in detail because of the fact that many details of those prophecies were made with respect to Israel as a literal nation, situated in the land of Palestine, whereas the Christian Church is a spiritual “nation” scattered all over the world. Those details cannot be reapplied to the church in any literal sense.

Details that depended upon the Jews continuing as God's chosen people in the land of Palestine have lapsed by default. To lift selected passages out of their literary and historical context in the O.T. and apply them arbitrarily to our day is not a valid exegesis.

(See: Were God’s Land Promise to Abraham Fulfilled?)

1 Peter 2:6-10 says, “For it stands in Scripture: “Behold, I am laying in Zion a stone, a cornerstone chosen and precious, and whoever believes in him will not be put to shame.” So the honor is for you who believe, but for those who do not believe, “The stone that the builders rejected has become the cornerstone,” and “A stone of stumbling, and a rock of offense.” They stumble because they disobey the word, as they were destined to do. But you are a chosen race, a royal priesthood, a holy nation, a people for his own possession, that you may proclaim the excellencies of him who called you out of darkness into his marvelous light. Once you were not a people, but now you are God’s people; once you had not received mercy, but now you have received mercy.” [36]

Appendix D:

The Book of Colossians and the Christian’s Record of Debt

Colossians 2:13-17 “And you, who were dead in your trespasses and the uncircumcision of your flesh, God made alive together with him, having forgiven us all our trespasses, by canceling the record of debt that stood against us with its legal demands. This he set aside, nailing it to the cross. He disarmed the rulers and authorities and put them to open shame, by triumphing over them in him. Therefore let no one pass judgment on you in questions of food and drink, or with regard to a festival or a new moon or a Sabbath. These are a shadow of the things to come, but the substance belongs to Christ.”

“The law of God shows us the sinfulness of mankind and demands death as the punishment. It is like a book that records sinners' debts, then demands their death because they cannot pay those debts. But God forgave the sins and wiped out the debts, because Christ paid the full penalty on behalf of repentant sinners. He destroyed the power of the law—as if he took that book with its record of sins and debts and nailed it to the cross with himself. Therefore, believers need no longer fear the power of the law (Colossians 2:14). Nor need they fear the power of the spiritual forces of evil, for Christ has conquered them, taken away their power and displayed his victory over them (Colossians 2:15).” [37]

“Colossians 2:13-14. Before a person is liberated to this new life in Christ, he is dead in his sins and in his sinful nature (cf. earthly nature: Colossians 3:5; old self: Colossians 3:9). Death means separation, not annihilation. Even the unsaved still bear the image of God (Genesis 9:6; James 3:9), but they are separated from God. Cut off from spiritual life, they still have human life. But now God made you alive with Christ (cf. Ephesians 2:1-6). The same "power" (energeias; cf. "energy" in Colossians 1:29) that raised Christ from the dead (Colossians 2:12) resurrects believing sinners to spiritual life (Colossians 2:13).

This new life came when God forgave us all our sins for He canceled the written code. Before God's written Law, His "written code," people stood condemned (cf. Romans 3:19), so it worked against them and opposed them. But in Christ the Law is fulfilled (Romans 8:2) and done away with (Galatians 3:25; Hebrews 7:12). Legalism is wrong because believers are dead to the Law in Christ. He fulfilled its demands in His life and by His death, and Christians are in Him.

This written code, the Law, was like a handwritten "certificate of debt" (NASB). Since people cannot keep the Law, it is like a bill of indebtedness. So people, unable to pay the debt, are criminals. But Jesus took... away this criminal charge, this certificate of indebtedness, by His death. It is as if He were nailing it to the cross with Him, showing He paid the debt. He wiped the slate clean.

As Krishna Ral put it: "Jesus for thee a body takes, thy guilt assumes, thy fetter breaks, discharging all thy dreadful debt; and canst thou then such love forget?"

Colossians 2:15-17. By fulfilling the demands of the Law, Christ disarmed the demonic powers and authorities (cf. Colossians 1:16; 2:10), triumphing over them (cf. 2 Corinthians 2:14). As a result believers are delivered from these evil powers which inspire legalistic rules about foods and festivals. No one should judge you by what you eat or drink because Christians are free from the Law's legalistic requirements (such as those in Leviticus 11; 17; Deuteronomy 14). God does not condemn those who eat everything (Romans 14:1-4).

In fact, God says that all foods may be eaten since they were "created to be received with thanksgiving by those who believe and who know the truth" (1 Timothy 4:3). The teaching that forbids this, Paul wrote, is "taught by demons" (1 Timothy 4:1) whom Christ has disarmed (Colossians 2:15). This liberation of believers pertains also to festivals such as a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath Day (cf. Galatians 4:10). Those who would bring Christians under the bondage of the Law make artificial distinctions between the "ceremonial" and "moral" law, and so they say the Sabbath has not passed away.

That this is false can be seen from the following: (1) The Sabbath command is the only one of the Ten Commandments not repeated in the New Testament. (2) The early believers, following Christ's resurrection and appearance on Sunday (Mark 16:1; John 20:1), met on Sundays (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). (3) The Bible nowhere distinguishes between the so-called "moral" and "ceremonial" laws (this distinction was not made before the 13th century a.d.) (4) This Colossian passage explicitly condemns those who command Sabbath obedience. (5) As Paul put it, the Old Testament Law (including the Sabbath) was only a shadow of the things that were to come. The reality or "substance" (sōma, lit., "body"), however, is to be found in Christ (cf. Hebrews 8:5; 10:1). What the Old Testament foreshadowed, Christ fulfilled (cf. Matthew 5:17; Romans 8:3-4). A "shadow" (skia) is only an image cast by an object which represents its form. Once one finds Christ, he no longer needs to follow the old shadow.” [38]

Having been set free from the bondage of sin through Christ's death, Christians should not get into bondage again by becoming slaves of religious regulations that people want to impose upon them. To make laws to live by is the way of the worldly person, not the way of the Christian. No matter how clever and religious those laws may appear, they will not succeed in controlling the desires of the body (Colossians 2:20-23).

“Because they have died to sin, Christians are not in bondage to things of the world as the Gnostics are. Christians have been raised with Christ to new life in a higher world, where their desires and conduct are like Christ's (Colossians 3:1-2). Through Christ they have life directly in God. In contrast to the Gnostics, they do not try to climb a ladder of countless intermediate spirit beings. Neither the Gnostics nor any other unbelievers can understand this life, because the life is 'in Christ' and therefore is hidden from their view. Its true character will be fully shown on the day when Christ's glory is revealed (Colossians 2:3-4).” [39]

(For further study: Food and Drink: Leviticus 11; Romans 14:3, 10, 13, 17; Hebrews 9:10; Feasts and Festivals: Leviticus 23:2; Deuteronomy 16:1-17; Nehemiah 8:9; Psalms 42:4; New moon: Numbers 28:11; Sabbath: Leviticus 23:2; Exodus 20:9; 31:17; Galatians 1:6-9; 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Hebrews 4:1-12).

Appendix E:

The Ten Commandments after the Cross:
The New Covenant follows Christ's law of Love

Christ Jesus redeemed us from the curse that has been brought through the law by becoming a curse for us (Galatians 3:13). He substituted Himself in our place and upon the cross took the punishment that is justly ours so that we are no longer under the curse of the Law. In doing so, He fulfilled and upheld the requirements of the Old Covenant Law.

This does not mean that Christians are to be lawless, as some advocate today—a teaching called antinomianism. Rather, it means that we are free from the Mosaic Law and instead under the law of Christ, which is to love God with all of our being and to love our neighbors as we love ourselves.

Christ became the end of the Law by virtue of what He did on earth through His sinless life and His sacrifice on the cross. So, the Law no longer has any bearing over us because its demands have been fully met in the Lord Jesus Christ. Faith in Christ who satisfied the righteous demands of the Law restores us into a pleasing relationship with God and keeps us there. No longer under the penalty of the Law, we now live under the law of grace in the love of God. [40]

In fact, nine of the Ten Commandments have been restated as moral absolutes and binding on those who follow Jesus under the New Covenant. Only the fourth commandment is not repeated. The Sabbath commandment was ceremonial in nature and served as a sign for the nation of Israel and all those who lived under the terms of the Old Covenant.

Commandment #1 - Exodus 20:3
You shall have no other gods before me . . . (1 Corinthians 8:4-6; 1 Corinthians 12:2).

Commandment #2 - Exodus 20:4-5
You shall not make for yourself a carved image - any likeness of anything that is in heaven above, or that is in the earth beneath, or that is in the water under the earth; you shall not bow down to them nor serve them . . . (1 John 5:21; Romans 1:22-23; Acts 17:29; Revelation 21:8).

Commandment #3 - Exodus 20:7
You shall not take the name of the Lord your God in vain, for the Lord will not hold him guiltless who takes His name in vain . . . (James 5:12; 1 Timothy 6:1).

Commandment #4 - Exodus 20:8-11
Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy . . . (Colossians 2:14-17; Galatians 4:10-11; 4:21; 5:1-4; Romans 14). {The Fourth Commandment was never repeated in the New Covenant}

Commandment #5 - Exodus 20:12
Honor your father and your mother . . . (Ephesians 6:1; Colossians 3:20).

Commandment #6 - Exodus 20:13
You shall not murder . . . (Romans 13:9; Revelation 21:8).

Commandment #7 - Exodus 20:14
You shall not commit adultery . . . (Romans 13:9; 1 Corinthians 6:9-10; Revelation 21:8).

Commandment #8 - Exodus 20:15
You shall not steal . . . (Romans 13:9; Ephesians 4:28; Titus 2:10).

Commandment #9 - Exodus 20:16
You shall not bear false witness against your neighbor . . . (Romans 13:9; Revelation 21:8).

Commandment #10 - Exodus 20:17
You shall not covet your neighbor's house . . . your neighbor's wife . . . nor anything that is your neighbor's . . . (Romans 7:7; Romans 13:9).

Appendix F:

We are under Grace - not the Law!

"Romans 6:14 For sin will have no dominion over you, since you are not under law but under grace.

Sin dominates all of our lives, unless we are learning of God's solution. Grace is God's sufficient remedy that sin will no longer dominate our lives.

Before we came to faith in Jesus Christ, we were under the dominion of sin. We were condemned before God because of our sin. Others may not have been aware of our truly sinful condition. Still, we were so controlled by sin that God called us "slaves of sin" (Romans 6:6).

The law brought us no hope of escape. In fact, the law condemned us. "Now we know that whatever the law says, it says to those who are under the law, that every mouth may be stopped, and all the world may become guilty before God" (Romans 3:19). We could never have found freedom from sin's condemnation by attempting to perform better under the law of God. "Knowing that a man is not justified by the works of the law but by faith in Jesus Christ…for by the works of the law no flesh shall be justified" (Galatians 2:16).

On the other hand, the grace of God is our effective hope. There is forgiveness of sins by His grace: "The forgiveness of sins, according to the riches of His grace" (Ephesians 1:7). There is justification through faith by the grace of God. "Even we have believed in Christ Jesus, that we might be justified by faith in Christ and not by the works of the law" (Galatians 2:16). There is growth in spiritual life by the grace of God. "But grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ" (2 Peter 3:18). None of these heavenly blessings become ours through our ability to live up to the holy standards of God's law." [41]

"The Old Testament system of Law required keeping the Sabbath as part of the overall moral, legal, and sacrificial system by which the Jewish people satisfied God’s requirements for behavior, government, and forgiveness of sins. The Sabbath was part of the Law in that sense. In order to "remain" in favor with God, you had to also keep the Sabbath. If it was not kept, then the person was in sin and would often be punished (Ezekiel 18:4; Romans 6:23; Deuteronomy 13:1-9; Numbers 35:31; Leviticus 20).

But with Jesus’ atonement, we are no longer required to keep the Law. We are not under Law, but grace (Romans 6:14-15). The Sabbath is fulfilled in Jesus. He is our rest. We are not under obligation, by Law, to keep it and this goes for the Sabbath as well. It is not a requirement that we keep the Sabbath. If it were, then we would still be under the Law, but we are not." [42]

Our relationship with the Lord is based upon grace, not upon law. We began a walk with the Lord by His grace at work for us. We continue walking with Him by His grace working in our lives.

Appendix G:

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi's Sabbath Findings.

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi proved that Ellen G. White lied about who changed the Sabbath and when!

Dr. Samuele Bacchiocchi, one of the Seventh-day Adventist's top scholars wrote in an E-mail message to the "Free Catholic Mailing List" on February 8, 1997 and said:

I differ from Ellen White, for example, on the origin of Sunday. She teaches that in the first centuries all Christians observed the Sabbath and it was largely through the efforts of Constantine that Sundaykeeping was adopted by many Christians in the fourth century. My research shows otherwise. If you read my essay “HOW DID SUNDAY-KEEPING BEGIN” which summarizes my dissertation, you will notice that I place the origin of Sundaykeeping by the time of the Emperor Hadrian, in A. D. 135.

Bacchiocchi could NOT FIND one quote from the early church fathers that said they all kept the Sabbath. NOT ONE!!!

No pope was around then to change the Sabbath. The Apostles did it.

Ellen G. White, who is considered inspired by Seventh-day Adventists, said that the Pope changed the Sabbath in about AD 321. Why do all Adventists today reject their inspired prophet and say the change of the Sabbath occurred in about AD 140? If White was wrong about this, was she wrong when she traveled to heaven and saw the 4th commandment glowing brighter than all the rest?

If the current position of the Seventh-day Adventist church is that the change from Saturday to Sunday took place in AD 140, doesn't that mean that they have come a long way from Whites AD 321 prediction and have only 40 more years to travel to reach the truth of the Apostolic age?

If the change from Saturday to Sunday happened, why is there absolutely no discussion of this change of actual day for the first 600 years of church history? Merely calling Sunday the Sabbath doesn't count!

If Sabbatarians reject White's inspiration, that Constantine changed the Sabbath day to Sunday, why do they keep bringing Constantine up as proof? If Constantine changed the Sabbath to Sunday, why does he merely legislate that work must stop on Sunday with no actual mention of the day being moved?

What is problematic is the impression many people get from EGW's statements that the Sabbath was observed "by all Christians . . . in the first centuries" until "the early part of the fourth century [when] the emperor Constantine issued a decree making Sunday a public holiday." (pp. 52-53) ... The earliest documents mentioning Sunday worship go back to Barnabas in 135 and Justin Martyr in 150. Thus, it is evident that Sunday worship was already established by the middle of the second century. This means that to be historically accurate the term "centuries" should be changed to the singular "century." - End Time Issues, #87

More from Ellen White:

"It was on behalf of Sunday that popery first asserted its arrogant claims; and its first resort to the power of the state was to compel the observance of Sunday as 'the Lord's Day.'" (Great Controversy, page 447)

"Royal edicts, general councils, and church ordinances sustained by secular power were the steps by which the pagan festival [day of the Sun] attained its position of honor in the Christian world." (Great Controversy, page 574)

And Dr. Bacchiocchi's rebuttal:

Both statements just cited are inaccurate, because the secular power of the state did not influence or compel Christians to adopt Sunday during the second and third centuries. At that time the Roman emperors were rather hostile toward Christianity. They were more interested to suppress Christianity than to support church leaders in their promotion of Sunday worship. The bishop of Rome could not have resorted to "the power of the state to compel the observance of Sunday as 'the Lord's Day.'" Eventually, beginning with the fourth century, some Roman emperors actively supported the agenda of the church, but this was long after the establishment of Sunday observance. - End Time Issues, #87

Dr. Bacchiocchi is presenting a more realistic view of the history of Sunday observance than Ellen White did. No educated historian takes the claim that the pope change the Sabbath seriously. The fact is that Sunday was kept by Christians long before Sylvester, long before Constantine.

Ignatius of Antioch, 107 AD: let every friend of Christ keep the Lord's Day as a festival, the resurrection-day, the queen and chief of all the days of the week.

(Epistle to the Magnesians, chapter 9. Ante-Nicene Fathers, volume 1, page 62-63)

The Epistle of Barnabas, 70-120 AD: Wherefore we Christians keep the eighth day for joy, on which also Jesus arose from the dead and when he appeared ascended into heaven.

(The Epistle of Barnabas, section 15, Ante-Nicene Fathers, volume 1, page 147)

Justin Martyr, 150 AD: But Sunday is the day on which we hold our common assembly, because it is the first day of the week and Jesus our saviour on the same day rose from the dead.

(First apology of Justin, Chapter 68)

As Bacchiocchi points out in his End Time Issues, #87:

"No Adventist scholar has ever taught or written that Sunday observance began in the fourth century with Constantine. A compelling proof is the symposium The Sabbath in Scripture and History, produced by 22 Adventist scholars and published by the Review and Herald in 1982. None of the Adventist scholars who contributed to this symposium ever suggest that Sundaykeeping began in the fourth century."

So, Adventism has never denied that Sunday keeping dates to the second century.
This Pope Sylvester thing is a rather desperate attempt to salvage a claim which should have been abandoned long ago. All it does today is make people laugh at those who suggest it, and when those who believe it realize they have been duped, they will realize that the whole system is based on such misinformation. I didn't think that this is what Adventism wants ... but for some, their traditions seem more important than admitting the facts and moving on to a more productive Christianity.

More from Ellen White:

“I saw that the Sabbath commandment was not nailed to the cross. If it was, the other nine commandments were; and we are at liberty to break them all, as well as to break the fourth. I saw that God had not changed the Sabbath, for He never changes. But the pope had changed it from the seventh to the first day of the week; for he was to change times and laws [Daniel 7:25]”. -- Ellen White, A word to the Little Flock, page 18, paragraph 3, and Early Writings, page 32, paragraph 3.

The pope has changed the day of rest from the seventh to the first day. -- Ellen White, Early Writings, page 65”

(See: http://biblelight.net/sylvester-I.htm)

Ellen White lied and said that the pope changed the Sabbath in AD 325. Once that was proven to be false she changed her comments and said that it was Constantine who changed the Sabbath. Constantine’s own edict proves that he did no such thing. Now many SDAs today are saying it was changed by Roman Christians around AD 325. [43]

Appendix H:

What is the Lord’s Day?

The Lord’s Day (as distinguished from the day of the Lord) is Sunday. The term Lord’s Day is used only once in Scripture. Revelation 1:10 says, “I was in the Spirit on the Lord’s Day, and I heard behind me a loud voice like a trumpet.” Since the apostle John does not elaborate on the meaning of “Lord’s day,” we can assume that his target audience, first-century Christians, were already familiar with the expression.

Some have assumed that the Lord’s Day is the New Testament equivalent of the Sabbath. The Sabbath day was instituted by God for the nation of Israel to commemorate His deliverance of them from Egypt (Deuteronomy 5:15). Sabbath began Friday at sunset and ended Saturday at sunset and was to be a day of complete rest from all labor, symbolic of the Creator’s resting on the seventh day (Genesis 2:2-3; Exodus 20:11; 23:12). The Sabbath was a special sign to the Israelites that they had been set apart as followers of the most High God. Their keeping of the Sabbath would help distinguish them from the nations around them. However, nowhere in Scripture is the Sabbath ever referred to as the Lord’s Day. The term Sabbath was still in use within the Jewish community in New Testament times and is referred to as such by Jesus and the apostles (Matthew 12:5; John 7:23; Colossians 2:16).

Sunday was the day that Jesus Christ rose from the dead, an act that forever separated Christianity from any other religion (John 20:1). Since that time, believers have gathered on the first day of the week to celebrate His victory over sin and death (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2). Even though the Sabbath day was designated by God as a holy day, Jesus demonstrated that He was Lord over the Sabbath (Matthew 12:8). Jesus stated that He had come not to abolish but to fulfill the whole Law. Rule-keeping could not justify anyone; only through Jesus could sinful humanity be declared righteous (Romans 3:28). Paul echoes this truth in Colossians 2:16-17 when he writes, “Therefore do not let anyone judge you by what you eat or drink, or with regard to a religious festival, a New Moon celebration or a Sabbath day. These are a shadow of the things that were to come; the reality, however, is found in Christ.”

The Lord’s Day is typically thought of as Sunday, but it is not a direct counterpart to the Jewish Sabbath—in other words, Sunday is not the “Christian Sabbath.” Although we should set aside a day for rest and honoring the Lord who died and rose for us, we are not under the Law (Romans 6:14-15). As born-again followers of Jesus, we are free to worship Him on any day that our conscience determines. Romans 14 gives clear explanation of how Christians are to navigate those subtle gray areas of discipleship. Verses 4 through 6 say, “One person considers one day more sacred than another; another considers every day alike. Each of them should be fully convinced in their own mind. Whoever regards one day as special does so to the Lord. Whoever eats meat does so to the Lord, for they give thanks to God; and whoever abstains does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God.”

Some Messianic Jews want to continue regarding the Sabbath day as holy because of their Jewish heritage. Some Gentile Christians join their Jewish brothers and sisters in keeping the Sabbath as a way to honor God. Worshiping God on the Sabbath is acceptable—again, the day of the week is not the most important issue—but the heart motivation behind that choice is crucial. If legalism or law-keeping motivates the choice to observe the Sabbath, then that choice is not made from a right heart condition (Galatians 5:4). When our hearts are pure before the Lord, we are free to worship Him on Saturday (the Sabbath) or Sunday (the Lord’s Day). God is equally pleased with both.

Jesus warned against legalism when He quoted Isaiah the prophet: “These people honor me with their lips, but their hearts are far from me. They worship me in vain; their teachings are merely human rules” (Matthew 15:8-9; cf. Isaiah 29:13). God is not interested in our keeping of rituals, rules, or requirements. He wants hearts that are on fire with His love and grace on the Sabbath, on the Lord’s Day, and on every other day (Hebrews 12:28-29; Psalm 51:15-17). [44]

Quotes from Early Church Fathers:

Ignatius of Antioch (Disciple of the Apostle John) wrote in A.D. 110

“If, therefore, those who were brought up in the ancient order of things have come to the possession of a new hope, no longer observing the Sabbath, but living in the observance of the Lord’s Day, on which also our life has sprung up again by Him and by His death—whom some deny, by which mystery we have obtained faith, and therefore endure, that we may be found the disciples of Jesus Christ, our only Master”

(Letter to the Magnesians (shorter) Chapter IX.—Let us live with Christ A.D. 110).

Justin Martyr wrote in A.D. 150

Moreover, all those righteous men already mentioned [after mentioning Adam. Abel, Enoch, Lot, Noah, Melchizedek, and Abraham], though they kept no Sabbaths, were pleasing to God; and after them Abraham with all his descendants until Moses... And you [fleshly Jews] were commanded to keep Sabbaths, that you might retain the memorial of God. For His word makes this announcement, saying, "That you may know that I am God who redeemed you."

(Dialogue with Trypho the Jew, A.D. 150-165, Ante-Nicene Fathers, vol. 1, page 204)

Tertullian wrote in A.D. 200

Let him who contends that the Sabbath is still to be observed a balm of salvation, and circumcision on the eighth day because of threat of death, teach us that in earliest times righteous men kept Sabbath or practiced circumcision, and so were made friends of God. ... Therefore, since God originated Adam uncircumcised, and inobservant of the Sabbath, consequently his offspring also, Abel, offering Him sacrifices, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was by Him commended... Noah also, uncircumcised - yes, and inobservant of the Sabbath - God freed from the deluge. For Enoch, too, most righteous man, uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, He translated from this world... Melchizedek also, "the priest of most high God," uncircumcised and inobservant of the Sabbath, was chosen to the priesthood of God.

(An Answer to the Jews 2:10; 4:1, Ante-Nicene Fathers Vol. 3, page 153)

(For more historical quotes from the Early Church Fathers go to:
http://www.bible.ca/H-sunday.htm)

Appendix I:

Genesis 2:3 Is an Example of Prolepsis

a. "a preface intended to anticipate and answer an objection to an argument" - Encarta

b. "the representation or assumption of a future act or development as if presently existing or accomplished" - Merriam-Webster

c. "anticipating and answering objections in advance" - OneLook Dictionary Search

d. "these words may be read in a parenthesis, as containing an account of a fact that was done, not at the beginning of the world, and on the first seventh day of it; but of what had been done in the times of Moses, who wrote this, after the giving of the law of the sabbath; and this being given through his hands to the people of Israel, he takes this opportunity here to insert it, and very pertinently, seeing the reason why God then, in the times of Moses, blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it, was, because he had rested on that day from all his works, Exodus 20:11 and the same reason is given here, taken plainly out of that law which he had delivered to them" – John Gill’s Commentary

1.    Genesis 2:1-3: God rested on the seventh day of Creation week and would later make keeping the Sabbath a requirement for Israel, but only after their exodus from Egypt. (Deuteronomy 5:2-3; Nehemiah 9:13-14)

2.    Genesis 2:24 “Therefore a man shall leave his father and his mother and hold fast to his wife,” (there were no mothers and fathers at that time)

3.    Genesis 3:20: And Adam “called his wife’s name Eve, because she was the mother of all living.” (This is said before the birth of Cain.)

4.    Genesis 4:20-21 “Adah bore Jabal; he was the father of those who dwell in tents and have livestock. His brother’s name was Jubal; he was the father of all those who play the lyre and pipe.” (But not at that time in the narration)

5.    Matthew 10:4 “Simon the Canaanite, and Judas Iscariot, who also betrayed Him.” (The betrayal occurred 3 years later. See also: Luke 6:16)

6.    1 Samuel 4:1: Samuel was called by his name but was not named until later in 1 Samuel 7:12.

7.    Genesis 11:9 (Babel was named because of what was to happen in the future)

8.    Genesis 10 tells of the future nations of the world to come.

9.    John 11:1-2 speaks of Mary’s anointing which did not take place until later in John 12:3.

10.    When Moses wrote "Genesis" to the Jews, he brought up the reason they kept the Sabbath relating it to the Creation account, although it was not finally revealed until the events recorded in Exodus 20:8-11 "Remember the Sabbath day, to keep it holy... 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”. [45]

(Adapted from: http://www.bible.ca/7-10in-Eden.htm)

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Links to Helpful Websites

1. The Change from Sabbath to Sunday:

[Did] THEY CHANGED THE SABBATH TO SUNDAY?
http://www.letusreason.org/7thAd18.htm
Exactly Which Pope Changed The Sabbath To Sunday? A Challenge To Adventists Answered. http://biblelight.net/sylvester-I.htm
Did Constantine change the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? https://www.gotquestions.org/Constantine-Sabbath.html
Why do Christians worship on Sunday?
https://www.gotquestions.org/worship-on-Sunday.html
Sabbatarians Falsely claim: "The pope changed the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday" http://www.bible.ca/7-pope-changed.htm
When did the Christian church switch the Sabbath from Saturday to Sunday? https://www.christianitytoday.com/history/2008/august/when-did-christian-church-switch-sabbath-from-saturday-to.html
Is it Biblical to Observe the Sabbath on Sunday?
https://www.crosswalk.com/church/pastors-or-leadership/ask-roger/is-it-biblical-to-observe-the-sabbath-on-sunday.html
Should Christians Keep the Sabbath?
https://www.christiancourier.com/articles/314-should-christians-keep-the-sabbath
The Pope Nor the Roman Catholic Church changed Sabbath to Sunday! http://www.truthorfables.com/Pope_Did_Not_
Change_Sabbath_Sunday.htm
Why Don't Christians Keep the Sabbath?
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath.html
Sabbath to Sunday: What Really Happened Under Constantine?
https://www.christian-history.org/sabbath-to-sunday.html
The Sabbath & Sunday
https://www.exadventist.com/Home/Sabbath/
SabbathSunday/tabid/516/Default.aspx
Weekly Sunday Giving / Weekly communion on Sunday (1st Day) / Weekly Church Attendance every Sunday is Essential!
(http://www.bible.ca/7-sunday-weekly-communion-acts-20-7.htm | http://www.bible.ca/7-sunday-1st-day.htm)

2. The Law placed Beside the Ark as a Testimony against Israel:

The Ark, The 10 Commandments And The Book Of The Law http://www.letusreason.org/7thAd10.htm
What was inside the Ark of the Covenant?
https://www.gotquestions.org/inside-the-ark-of-the-covenant.html
Ancient Jewish History: The Ark of the Covenant
https://www.jewishvirtuallibrary.org/the-ark-of-the-convenant
The Tables Of Stone In Heaven And On Earth, Both Are To Be Presented To The World: Comments by E. G. White concerning the lost Ark:
https://www.arkdiscovery.com/egw-aoc.htm

The Law Placed Beside the Ark:
http://in-him.com/SDA/law-beside-the-ark.htm

3. Why God Rested and Sanctified the Seventh-day of Creation:

Why did God rest on the seventh day of creation (Genesis 2:2)? https://www.gotquestions.org/God-rest-seventh-day.html

Don Stewart: In What Sense Did God Rest upon the Seventh Day? https://www.blueletterbible.org/faq/don_stewart/don_stewart_692.cfm

Why did God need to rest on the Seventh Day of creation?
https://carm.org/why-did-god-need-to-rest-from-creating

Is the Seventh Day an Eternal Day?
https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/is-the-seventh-day-an-eternal-day/

The Days of Creation: A Semantic Approach
https://answersingenesis.org/days-of-creation/the-days-of-creation-a-semantic-approach/

The Rest of Creation:
https://www.gty.org/library/sermons-library/90-221/the-rest-of-creation

Footnotes:

See: http://www.bible.ca/7-10in-Eden.htm

Ibid.

See: https://www.nonsda.org/seal-of-god.htm

See: https://www.nonsda.org/study7.shtml

See: http://blog.lifeassuranceministries.org/2019/02/07/
isaiah-66-does-not-prove-sabbath-keeping-in-heaven

Ibid.

See: https://www.biblestudytools.com/dictionaries/
eastons-bible-dictionary/law-of-moses.html

See: http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sda/
85questionsforsda.pdf

Ibid.

See: https://www.exadventist.com/Home/Sabbath/SabbathSunday/
tabid/516/Default.aspx

See: http://articles.ochristian.com/article14034.shtml

See: http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sda/
85questionsforsda.pdf

See: ESV Study Bible: Matthew 28:18-20

See: https://www.nonsda.org/study7.shtml

See: https://carm.org/are-christians-under-the-law

See: https://www.ligonier.org/blog/jesus-died-he-lived

See: https://carm.org/are-christians-under-the-law

See: http://actheologian.com/2014/11/07/
sabbaths-new-moons-and-appointed-feasts

See: ESV Study Bible: Hebrews 8:8-12

See: Nelson's NKJV Study Bible: Hebrews 8:8-12

See: Believer's Study Bible: Hebrews 8:8-10

See: Nelson's NKJV Study Bible: Hebrews 8:10-12

See: Nelson's NKJV Study Bible: Hebrews 8:13

See: NIV Study Bible: Hebrews 7:18 & Hebrews Introduction

See: The Ryrie Study Bible: Hebrews 4:5-9

See: Holman Bible Dictionary: “New Covenant”

See: ESV Study Bible: Hebrews 9:16-17 “will”

See: Baker's Evangelical Dictionary of Biblical Theology: The Law of Christ

For a list of all the 613 laws see: http://www.jewfaq.org/613.htm

See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Noahide-laws.html

See: http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sda/
85questionsforsda.pdf

See: AMG's Comprehensive Dictionary of New Testament Words: entolē & nomos

See: International Standard Bible Encyclopedia, 1915 addition: Eternal

See: The Complete Word Study Dictionary: σαββατισμός / sabbatismós

I have used three websites: https://www.beautifulchristianlife.com/
blog/8-covenants-in-the-bible
https://www.gotquestions.org/bible-covenants.html
https://carm.org/questions-eternal-covenant

See: Outline form taken from the Seventh-Day Adventist Encyclopedia,
Revised Edition, 1976 article: Israel, Prophecies Concerning

See: Concise Bible Commentary: Colossians 2:6-15

See: The Bible Knowledge Commentary: Colossians 2:13-17

See: Concise Bible Commentary: Colossians 2:16-3:4

See: https://www.gotquestions.org/not-under-the-law.html

See: https://www.blueletterbible.org/devotionals/dbdbg/view.cfm?Date=0104

See: https://carm.org/about-the-church/why-do-we-worship-on-sunday-instead-of-saturday/

See: http://biblelight.net/sylvester-I.htm

See: https://www.gotquestions.org/Lords-day.html

See: http://www.bible.ca/7-10in-Eden.htm

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“You observe days and months and seasons and years!
I am afraid I may have labored over you in vain.” Galatians 4:10-11

This study is primarily a response to the teachings of the Seventh-day Adventist Church.

On a personal note, I know many Seventh-day Adventists who have a love for God and want to please him. This is not meant as a condemnation against them, but what I believed to be the false teachings of their church. I know there are many Sabbatarians who know that they are saved by grace alone, through faith alone, in Christ alone. If someone wants to keep the Seventh-day Sabbath for personal reasons, that is their free choice.

Romans 14:5-8 says, “One man considers one day more sacred than another; another man considers every day alike. Each one should be fully convinced in his own mind. He who regards one day as special, does so to the Lord. He who eats meat, eats to the Lord, for he gives thanks to God; and he who abstains, does so to the Lord and gives thanks to God. For none of us lives to himself alone and none of us dies to himself alone. If we live, we live to the Lord; and if we die, we die to the Lord. So, whether we live or die, we belong to the Lord.” (NIV)

However, there are many Seventh-day Adventists that believe that you must keep the Seventh-day Sabbath to be saved. The information presented above clearly shows that belief to be false.

For a list of common arguments against Seventh-day
Sabbath keeping under The New Covenant see:

Amazing Facts about the Sabbath and other questions!
(http://www.christianissues.biz/pdf-bin/sda/85questionsforsda.pdf)

Links to websites I have used information from:

ESV Text Edition: 2016

THE SABBATH IN THE OLD AND NEW COVENANTS:
(A Study in the Mosaic Law and if it is for God’s People Today)

This written work was not originally intended to be published. I have drawn from many different websites, books and chat room discussions. There are many excellent websites and published works that deal with this subject and they have been extremely helpful to me. Wherever possible I have tried to give credit where credit is due. If you believe that some part of this work was originally written by you or someone you know, please let me know so I can give them credit. It would be my honor to do so.

Copyright © 2018 by Bill Fritz, In Him Ministries
(http://In-Him.com)

All rights reserved. This written work or any portion thereof may not be reproduced or used in any manner whatsoever without the express written permission of the author except for the use of brief quotations in another work. Published in the United States of America.

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New Covenant Theology (an overview)

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