There is no question that God set aside the commemoration of the seventh day of every week as a Sabbath rest unto God in perpetuity. So at face value, the fact that most Gentile believers keep the first day of the week as a Sabbath unto God seems like a blatant denial of God's fourth Commandment to remember the Sabbath day, and keep it holy. However, keeping a Sabbath rest on the first day of the week is based on two valid points. First of all, Christ rose from the dead early on the first day of the week (John 20:1), cutting a New Covenant with humanity marked by His horrible death and miraculous resurrection. Secondly, the Apostle Paul told believers to set aside some of their increase to share with other believers when they met for fellowship on the first day of the week (Acts 20:7; 1 Corinthians 16:2).
But there is another reason that is a bit more esoteric or hidden from view unless one spends time in deep study, and inquires of God for the answer, for there is a Prophetic quality to the choice of the day in which we choose to worship God that is not only biblically sound, but totally in keeping with the Spirit of our New Covenant with Christ. The prophetic quality is hinted at in Revelation Chapters 21 and 22, where Christ is the King of kings Who sits on the Heavenly Throne in the New Jerusalem as the fully perfect and divine representative of God the Father. As the enthroned King, Yahshua or Jesus is called the Alpha and Omega, the First and the Last, and the Beginning and the End (See Revelation 21:6-8 and Rev. 22:12-15).
In Revelation 21:1-8, God - and ostensibly His Son - are described as the Comforter of Christ's Bride, wiping away their sorrow and replacing it with the joy of being counted as worthy to be a part of God's family. The Son of God is also described as the King on the Throne Who is the First and the Last - meaning that He is the Author and Finisher of our Faith, and He is First in the order of Creation, the firstborn of the First Resurrection, and the Final Authority in Salvation and Judgment. At this time, Christ speaks and clearly identifies the destination of the blessed, who will dwell in the New Jerusalem and have everlasting fellowship with God. He also tells of the destination of the damned, who will spend eternity in the lake of fire called Hell for breaking His Commandments and not repenting of their sins.
Christ's remarks here recall His parabolic and highly prophetic statement that was used several times in Scripture. This is the fact that the first would be last, and the last would be first (See Matthew 19:28-30; Matthew 20:11-16; Mark 10:29-31; Luke 13:28-30). What this means is that those who were first spiritually enlightened by God would eventually fall by the wayside and become last in the hierarchy of the Kingdom of God, and in danger of hell-fire. Meanwhile, those who come into the Kingdom of God through Christ as the Last Adam will become first in the Kingdom by the power of Christ's covering blood and saving Spirit.
In the past, those who were spiritually first referred to the Israelites that were under the Law of Moses. They had a type of salvation that was based on faith, blood sacrifice and works. Those who kept the Law and did good works in keeping with God's commands were considered first on a spiritual level. Therefore, at this stage of God's redemptive plan, those who were unsaved, did not have the blood covering offered by the Temple sacrifices, and were destined to Hell for this reason were seen as the last spiritually. But after Christ died and rose again, a new stage of God's redemptive plan revealed itself through the teaching of Christ in the Gospels, and by Paul and others in the rest of the New Testament, and those who were spiritually last became first.
At the time of Christ's death and resurrection, the majority of the Jews rejected Christ as the Messiah. Then, 70 years later, their Temple to Yahweh in Jerusalem was destroyed, and they no longer could offer up sacrifices for their salvation. This is when those who were spiritually first became spiritually last, and became subject to Hell and damnation. Without the Temple to perform sacrifices as prescribed by the Torah, Jews are to be judged by the Law. But since only those who keep it perfectly are not subject to hellfire, they are all subject to it unless God shows them mercy as His Chosen People, or they repent and accept Christ as their Savior.
Only those who accept Yahshua or Jesus as their Messiah and King can be considered first in the Kingdom of God. Those who love and follow Christ will be co-rulers and priests with Christ, and they will minister to those who are not yet saved, or who are mortal and saved during His Millennial Kingdom. For this reason, keeping the Sabbath on the first day of the week is symbolic of the new position each born-again believer has attained in Christ as the first to enter the Kingdom of God. In addition, since the seventh day is tied to judgment and completion, it signifies that there will be an end to, judgment of, and final reckoning of this fallen world, and that it is passing away. But meeting on the first day of the week proclaims that believers are the first to enter the Kingdom of Heaven, and to find the true freedom and liberty they will have in Christ for all eternity.
Yahshua is the Lord of the Sabbath, and He and His disciples broke it in order to give their bodies sustenance (See Matthew 12:11-8), and to heal and serve God's children in need (See Luke 13:14-16). This is why born again believers choose to spend more than one day in communion with God, having fellowship with His saints, and studying His Word. Instead, rather than keep the Sabbath for one day like the Jews, believers can proclaim by their supposed Sabbath-breaking that they can spend time throughout every day of the week reading Scripture and finding fellowship, as well as preaching to the lost, just as Christ taught, but the Jews failed to do.
When we die to the world to live for Christ, it means that our every waking moment of every day is spent in fellowship with, and in communion with Him. But to have God's fellowship, we must be born again, and be listening to God's Spirit within us. This means living uprightly by keeping Christ's commandments, and going to the Cross daily to ask God for forgiveness of every seen and unseen sin. In this manner, true believers keep the Sabbath every day of the week.
So. if you choose to worship Christ and fellowship with other believers on Sunday instead of Saturday, do not allow yourselves to be bullied by Seventh Day Sabbath keepers. Stand firm in Christ, and in your knowledge of the truth, and have a blessed Sabbath whenever you choose to remember it.
For more information on this important topic, you may want to read a previous POEM Ministry blog article, which goes even further into the purpose and prophetic meaning of the Sabbath. Here is the title and link to it:
WHY CHRIST IS THE LORD
OF A PERPETUAL SABBATH!
With Love From
Your Sister In Yahshua,
Helena Lehman of the
Pillar of Enoch Ministry
Ministry Web Site: http://pillar-of-enoch.com
Ministry Blog: http://pillarofenoch.blogspot.com
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