The Sabbath is the Holy Ghost baptism
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The Sabbath rest is a symbol of the Holy Ghost baptism, making us rest from our works of sin and unbelief.
- The Sabbath day is not Sunday nor the Day of the Lord
- Work and rest and never go back to your works again
- Some exceptions to breaking the Sabbath were allowed
- Resting from the desire to sin is our ultimate Sabbath
- Sabbaths that were not on the seventh day
- The Saturday Sabbath was not a complete rest in itself
- Waving the Firstfruits made Sunday a day of worship
- The Law of God and the Sabbath are just a Shadow
- The repentant heart is the Throne of God
- But the real sin is unbelief
- No night nor time in Heaven and thus no 7th day or week
The Sabbath day is not Sunday nor the Day of the Lord
Matthew 15:9
But in vain they do worship me, teaching for doctrines the commandments of men.
We must make sure that our doctrine of the Sabbath is correct.
The first possibility is that of most Christians who call Sunday the Sabbath or rest day.
But this cannot be proven from the Bible.
The Sabbath day is not Sunday.
Sunday puts the emphasis on the resurrection and the Holy Ghost baptism on the Day of Pentecost.
The early Christians gathered together on a Sunday as Jesus is the only religious Leader who conquered Death and rose again to assure us of Eternal Life on a Sunday. Sunday was also the outpouring of the Holy Ghost on the Day of Pentecost which made the disciples free from unbelief so that they finally rested from their sins and never went back to their previous sinful works.
So, the early church came together on a Sunday. We follow that example of theirs.
ACTS 20:7 And upon the first day of the week, when the disciples came together to break bread, Paul preached unto them, ready to depart on the morrow; and continued his speech until midnight.
I CORINTHIANS 16:2 Upon the first day of the week let every one of you lay by him in store, as God hath prospered him, that there be no gatherings when I come.
There is nothing wrong with Sunday as a day of worship and preaching the Word as the early church did that.
The mistake is to call Sunday the Sabbath day.
If you want a day of the week as an outward Sabbath, the Bible clearly says that the seventh day is Saturday.
If you want the Sabbath to be an inner experience that makes you cease from your sinful works then the Sabbath day is the day you receive the Holy Ghost baptism.
"Sunday Sabbath" is a church tradition invented by men and not based on Scripture.
Because it became the day of worship, men kept trying to put an extra emphasis on Sunday and so they called Sunday the Lord's day.
But the Lord's day refers to the 3.5 years of great Tribulation when the Lord cleans up the sinful and technological mess that man has made on planet Earth.
Now is the "day of man" when man does what he likes.
Soon is coming the "day of the Lord" when the Lord does what He likes, which is to clean up and destroy sin.
ISAIAH 13:6
Howl ye; for the day of the LORD is at hand; it shall come as a destruction from the Almighty.
ISAIAH 13:9
Behold, the day of the LORD cometh, cruel both with wrath and fierce anger, to lay the land desolate: and he shall destroy the sinners thereof out of it.
JOEL 3:14
Multitudes, multitudes in the valley of decision: for the day of the LORD is near in the valley of decision.
Decisions. We must all decide. Do we go with the popular and convenient flow or do we stay with Scripture even if that makes us part of a small minority?
AMOS 5:18
Woe unto you that desire the day of the LORD! to what end is it for you? the day of the LORD is darkness, and not light.
MALACHI 4:5
Behold, I will send you Elijah the prophet before the coming of the great and dreadful day of the LORD:
We need a prophet to turn us back to the Bible, back to the beliefs of the early New Testament church. Otherwise, despite our sincerity, our unscriptural beliefs will land us in the fearful years of great Tribulation.
I THESSALONIANS 5:2
For yourselves know perfectly that the day of the Lord so cometh as a thief in the night.
II PETER 3:10
But the day of the Lord will come as a thief in the night; in the which the heavens shall pass away with a great noise, and the elements shall melt with fervent heat, the earth also and the works that are therein shall be burned up.
Sunday, very obviously, is not the Day of the Lord.
Let us consider the possibility that the Sabbath day is Saturday :
Is the Sabbath Day Saturday, a day of rest from the week’s work before you have to go back to work again when the next week starts?
Or, another possibility :
Is the Sabbath Day the baptism of the Holy Ghost. Allowing the Spirit to replace your unbelief with faith in Jesus Christ and His written Word, the Bible?
Christ becomes Lord of your life as He controls your thoughts and actions and you cease from your unbelief and find rest from your sinful works.
You don’t go back to your sinful works and unbelief again.
When God was above the Jews, (outside them) the Sabbath was a day of rest.
A rest from the outward desire towards the materialism of the things of the world.
As the Father, God was above the Jews.
God was outside the Jews and wanted a free day where they focused on Him and not on their outward desires for selfish material gain.
Then God came down to our level when the fullness of God dwelled in the Man, Jesus Christ.
COLOSSIANS 2:9 For in him dwelleth all the fulness of the Godhead bodily.
In this Man, God developed His Human characteristics or nature and then paid for our sins.
Thus, as the Son, God dwelled with the Jews.
JOHN 14:17 Even the Spirit of truth; whom the world cannot receive, because it seeth him not, neither knoweth him: but ye know him; for he dwelleth with you, and shall be in you.
When God dwells in you, the Sabbath is a new relationship that you have with God.
True rest is an inward desire towards the God who lives in you.
Father, Son, and Holy Spirit mean God above, God with, and God in you.
The Holy Ghost baptism is when a portion of God's Spirit comes into you.
Part of that Spirit is supernatural and part of that Spirit is the human nature that God wants you to be.
Our old human nature has to die so that the new human nature we get from Jesus can make us into the person that God intended us to be.
The new covenant is a change in direction from the outward hope for personal gain that we can achieve in this physical world to an inward desire for a deeper spiritual relationship with Christ.
Work and rest and never go back to your works again
JEREMIAH 31:
:31 Behold, the days come, saith the LORD, that I will make a new covenant with the house of Israel, and with the house of Judah:
:32 Not according to the covenant that I made with their fathers in the day that I took them by the hand to bring them out of the land of Egypt; which my covenant they brake, although I was an husband unto them, saith the LORD:
:33 But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
God writes His Law into our hearts so that we obey Him because we want to, not because we have to.
Look at the calendar. The first day of the week is Sunday.
The seventh day of the week is Saturday. We can also regard Sunday as being the eighth day of the old week.
Sunday Monday Tuesday Wednesday Thursday Friday Saturday Sunday
1 2 3 4 5 6 7 8
Sunday is definitely not the seventh day, thus Sunday cannot be the Sabbath day.
This is how the Bible introduces the Sabbath day.
GENESIS 2:3
And God blessed the seventh day, and sanctified it: because that in it he had rested from all his work which God created and made.
This day was a Saturday as it was the seventh day.
But the emphasis was on God’s blessing.
God blessed the day, not because it was the seventh day (a Saturday) but because God rested.
So the blessing lies in the rest, not in the seven.
The Sabbath is thus God’s rest.
“Sabbath” basically means “rest”.
We will only solve the issue of the Sabbath when we find God’s rest for us humans.
HEBREWS 4:9
There remaineth therefore a rest to the people of God.
HEBREWS 4:10
For he that is entered into his rest, he also hath ceased from his own works, as God did from his.
We only find God’s rest when we rest from our works the same way that God rested.
If you work for a week, rest on a Saturday, and then go back to work again: this is not the way God rested.
God did His creation works and then ceased creating. He never went back to doing more of His creative works because the creation was finished.
God could only rest because there was no sin.
After sin entered God cursed the ground which forced man to work hard for a living.
GENESIS 3:17
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
GENESIS 3:18
Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
GENESIS 3:19
In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Because of sin, God sentenced man to a life of hard work.
Thus, how can we cease from our own works to earn a living and never go back to them?
This is not possible if we think of physically working for a living. We all have to keep working. We all need a day’s rest, once a week, and then we have to go back to work again.
So what the Jews did was just a shadow of the real rest. They worked, rested, and went back to work again in a continual cycle. This is not what God did.
Thus the “works” here do not refer to our works whereby we earn a living. It has a deeper meaning.
“Our own works” refer to our sinful works that must cease.
We are born sinners and do our own works. “Our own works” also refer to our own ambitions and agendas and interests.
God wants us to be a part of His plans, not our own plans.
ROMANS 3:23
For all have sinned, and come short of the glory of God;
Then we meet Christ as our Saviour and repent of our sinful works. But that is only the start.
We need God to live within our hearts to keep us from going back to our sinful works of smoking, drinking, gambling, etc. Only God can stop you from living by your own works if you allow Him to live in your heart.
The only time that we truly cease from our own sinful works is when God enters our hearts to control our lives and give us new desires that are holy. This is our true Sabbath as we rest from our former sins and don’t go back to doing them.
This is called the baptism of the Holy Ghost.
It was always God’s ultimate plan to dwell, not in a building, but in human hearts. God dwelling in your heart makes you blessed. Most people miss this hidden plan of God and just focus on the outer observance of a day.
Our bodies are like a taxi. We pick up a lot of bad spirits. Getting saved is when we stop and invite Christ into our taxi. Then the other bad spirits begin to leave. That is sanctification or holiness. The Holy Ghost baptism is when we hand over the steering wheel to Jesus and let Him steer us through life’s journey.
How do we receive the Holy Ghost?
The formula is clearly laid out in Acts 2: 38.
ACTS 2:38
Then Peter said unto them, Repent, and be baptized every one of you in the name of Jesus Christ for the remission of sins, and ye shall receive the gift of the Holy Ghost.
Thus the Sabbath day as a Saturday was just an approximation of God’s rest.
No law, dealing with sinful man, can be so well crafted that it covers every case.
Even the Sabbath was not a water-tight rule that always held.
Some exceptions to breaking the Sabbath were allowed
Exception 1
MATTHEW 12:5
Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
The priests had to perform their religious duties. This was obviously not ideal as it meant that the religious leaders thus had to work. It could not be helped and was thus allowed.
But none-the-less they were breaking the Sabbath.
Keeping the law of resting on Saturday was not the fulfillment of the Sabbath. God wanted the Jews to worship Him on their day of rest (Saturday) and that required their religious leaders to work hard on a Saturday.
Exception 2
MATTHEW 12:11
And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
Emergencies override the Sabbath day. Emergencies cannot be helped and thus God tolerates them. They are allowed to prevent suffering and possible death. But once again, they involve breaking the Sabbath.
Exception 3
LUKE 13:15
The Lord then answered him, and said, Thou hypocrite, doth not each one of you on the sabbath loose his ox or his ass from the stall, and lead him away to watering?
Animals need care on a Sabbath day. Caring for animals is essential. So once again the rule of not working on a Saturday breaks down.
Exception 4
The Sabbath day also had to play second fiddle to the circumcision which had to happen on the eighth day of a child’s life.
So a strange precedence pushed the Sabbath day into second place.
The Sabbath day of Saturday could not properly cope with the problem of circumcision. If a child was 8 days old on a Saturday, he had to be circumcised.
Thus the Sabbath law was broken to fulfil the law of circumcision.
No law, applied to us sinful humans, can cover all the possibilities.
GENESIS 17:9
And God said unto Abraham, Thou shalt keep my covenant therefore, thou, and thy seed after thee in their generations.
:10 This is my covenant, which ye shall keep, between me and you and thy seed after thee; Every man child among you shall be circumcised.
Abraham’s covenant with God was focused on the cutting off of the flesh so that he could follow the leading of the Spirit.
The natural circumcision is a shadow of a deeper experience whereby we permit the Holy Spirit to cut off the fleshly desires from our heart so that we have no desire to sin.
In the Old Testament, the Sabbath day was their great covenant.
Yet the Sabbath day was overruled by the circumcision on the eighth day.
GENESIS 17: 12
And he that is 8 days old shall be circumcised among you
JOHN 7:22
Moses therefore gave unto you circumcision; (not because it is of Moses, but of the fathers;) and ye on the sabbath day circumcise a man.
Abraham, long before Moses was given the Law, was given the circumcision.
JOHN 7:23
If a man on the sabbath day receive circumcision, that the law of Moses should not be broken; are ye angry at me, because I have made a man every whit whole on the sabbath day?
Circumcision, a painful cutting of the flesh, was permitted on a Sabbath. Yet the Jews were upset by a healing on the Sabbath.
Resting from the desire to sin is our ultimate Sabbath
Only the Holy Spirit can do this work in our hearts.
The 8th day of a child’s life took preference over the 7th day of the week. Circumcision on the 8th day was more important than resting on the 7th day.
Once again the Saturday rest showed its limitations.
Circumcision, the cutting off of the flesh, is more important than the Saturday rest from work.
Why?
ROMANS 2:29
But he is a Jew, which is one inwardly; and circumcision is that of the heart, in the spirit, and not in the letter; whose praise is not of men, but of God.
Only the Holy Spirit can cut off the sinful desires of the flesh from our hearts.
So circumcision is symbolic of the Holy Ghost baptism whereby God takes control of the desires of our heart. Only when our heart’s desires are cut off from the lusts of the flesh can we find rest from our sinful works.
This is only possible when we are born again of the Spirit.
There is no spiritual rest (Sabbath) unless our hearts are first cut off from the desires of the flesh (circumcision).
The natural circumcision was a shadow of the Holy Spirit baptism which alone can cut off the desires of the flesh, to live and dress in a worldly manner.
In the flesh, we are more attracted by the fashions of the world than by the will of God.
When our hearts are cut off from the desires of the flesh, through faith in the indwelling Holy Spirit of Jesus Christ, then only do we find rest from sin as we lose interest in the world and its fashions.
Sabbaths that were not on the seventh day
LEVITICUS 23:39
Also in the fifteenth day of the seventh month, when ye have gathered in the fruit of the land, ye shall keep a feast unto the LORD seven days: on the first day shall be a sabbath, and on the eighth day shall be a sabbath.
The 15th day of the 7th month could be any day of the week. Yet it was a Sabbath.
Eight days later there was another Sabbath.
Only about once in seven years could this 15th day be a Saturday and even then, eight days later would not be a Saturday.
The Sabbath now loses its status as the seventh day.
The Sabbath now refers to whatever day of the week the 15th day of the 7th month happens to be.
Thus the Sabbath here does not refer to the seventh day, but it does refer to a rest.
LEVITICUS 16:29
And this shall be a statute for ever unto you: that in the seventh month, on the tenth day of the month, ye shall afflict your souls, and do no work at all, whether it be one of your own country, or a stranger that sojourneth among you:
: 30 For on that day shall the priest make an atonement for you, to cleanse you, that ye may be clean from all your sins before the LORD.
: 31 It shall be a sabbath of rest unto you, and ye shall afflict your souls, by a statute for ever.
The tenth day of the seventh month was another Sabbath. The day of atonement.
Resting on that day was important, even if it is not a Saturday.
Thus Saturday was not always the Sabbath nor was it always the special day of worship.
LEVITICUS 23:27
Also on the tenth day of this seventh month there shall be a day of atonement: it shall be an holy convocation unto you; and ye shall afflict your souls, and offer an offering made by fire unto the LORD.
LEVITICUS 23:32
It shall be unto you a sabbath of rest, and ye shall afflict your souls:
in the ninth day of the month at even, from even unto even, shall ye celebrate your sabbath.
So a Sabbath did not have to be a Saturday, it was just the tenth day of the seventh month.
LEVITICUS 23:24
Speak unto the children of Israel, saying, In the seventh month, in the first day of the month, shall ye have a sabbath, a memorial of blowing of trumpets, an holy convocation.
The tenth month had a Sabbath on both the first day and the tenth day.
Thus Sabbath was no longer confined to Saturday, but it was always a rest day.
Some people claim that Sabbath day (singular) refers to a Saturday and Sabbath days (plural) refers to these other week days that were declared to be Sabbath days.
But the following Scripture applies to a Saturday and uses the plural Sabbath days as well as the singular Sabbath day.
MATTHEW 12:10
And, behold, there was a man which had his hand withered. And they asked him, saying, Is it lawful to heal on the sabbath days? that they might accuse him.
:11And he said unto them, What man shall there be among you, that shall have one sheep, and if it fall into a pit on the sabbath day, will he not lay hold on it, and lift it out?
:12 How much then is a man better than a sheep? Wherefore it is lawful to do well on the sabbath days.
In the New Testament, we must find the deeper issues that the Law represented.
Water and meat represent doctrine, the food of the soul.
Sabbath means rest from sin, not works. This is the Holy Ghost baptism.
COLOSSIANS 2:16
Let no man therefore judge you in meat, or in drink, or in respect of an holyday, or of the new moon, or of the sabbath days:
:17 Which are a shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ.
This is the last reference to Sabbath in the New Testament.
This certainly does not put an emphasis on the seventh day Sabbath of Saturday but warns us against regarding the Sabbath as a day.
It actually points us away from stressing a day as a Sabbath day or a holy day.
Some people say that "Sabbath days" refer to the eight special feast days that were classified as sabbath days, like the first and seventh days of the unleavened bread and the first and eighth day of the feast of the tabernacles.
Saturday, they claim, is always referred to as the Sabbath day" (singular).
MATTHEW 12:2 But when the Pharisees saw it, they said unto him, Behold, thy disciples do that which is not lawful to do upon the sabbath day.
:3 But he said unto them, Have ye not read what David did, when he was an hungred, and they that were with him;
:4 How he entered into the house of God, and did eat the shewbread, which was not lawful for him to eat, neither for them which were with him, but only for the priests?
:5 Or have ye not read in the law, how that on the sabbath days the priests in the temple profane the sabbath, and are blameless?
The Pharisees questioned Jesus about working on Saturday, the Sabbath day. Jesus replied by quoting about "Sabbath days".
Yet the verse He refers to says Sabbath day (singular).
NUMBERS 28:9 And on the sabbath day two lambs of the first year without spot,
:10 This is the burnt offering of every sabbath, beside the continual burnt offering, and his drink offering.
Thus Jesus saw no difference between Sabbath day (singular) and Sabbath days (plural) as there were many Sabbath days in a year.
The Saturday Sabbath was but a shadow of a deeper reality. The deeper rest from sin.
When you have the reality, why go back to the shadow?
GALATIANS 4:
: 9 But now, after that ye have known God, or rather are known of God, how turn ye again to the weak and beggarly elements, whereunto ye desire again to be in bondage?
: 10 Ye observe days, and months, and times, and years.
: 11 I am afraid of you, lest I have bestowed upon you labour in vain.
Relying on a day like Saturday or a yearly time like Christmas time is a beggarly element. To encourage sun worship in AD 274 the Roman emperor Aurelian declared 25 December to be the sun god’s birthday. This festival did not exist in the first church age. If we believe it to be the birth of Christ, we are not lining up with the Bible or with the first church age as they had no such belief.
The Saturday Sabbath was not a complete rest in itself
Real rest comes from being in the presence of God.
EXODUS 33:14
And he said, My presence shall go with thee, and I will give thee rest.
Even in the Old Testament, the Saturday rest was not a complete rest in itself.
DEUTERONOMY 12:9
For ye are not as yet come to the rest and to the inheritance, which the LORD your God giveth you.
They were resting every Saturday.
But there was still another rest in the Promised Land.
DEUTERONOMY 12:10
But when ye go over Jordan, and dwell in the land which the LORD your God giveth you to inherit, and when he giveth you rest from all your enemies round about, so that ye dwell in safety;
They rested every Saturday but in addition, they also needed rest from their enemies.
Thus Saturday rest was limited to rest from work. It could not give them rest from their enemies.
For this, they needed to have a strong country, Palestine (also called Canaan) in which they could dwell safely as the other nations would be scared to attack them.
ISAIAH 14:3
And it shall come to pass in the day that the LORD shall give thee rest from thy sorrow, and from thy fear, and from the hard bondage wherein thou wast made to serve,
They also needed rest from sorrow and fear and bondage (slavery).
This was only possible when they became a strong nation in their Promised Land.
Not working on a Saturday could not give people rest from sorrow and fear and slavery.
Waving the Firstfruits made Sunday a day of worship
Saturday also lost its pre-eminence as the day of worship.
The Jews were given a special festival.
They had to wave the firstfruits of the harvest, and this had to be done on a Sunday.
Here Sunday is specifically mentioned as a day of worship.
LEVITICUS 23:10
Speak unto the children of Israel, and say unto them, When ye be come into the land which I give unto you, and shall reap the harvest thereof, then ye shall bring a sheaf of the firstfruits of your harvest unto the priest:
The firstfruits are the first handful of the harvest that got ripe.
Each seed, when planted, dies and then comes alive as it grows into a new plant.
This is the blueprint for the resurrection. A person dies, is buried or planted in the ground, and will then be resurrected by the Lord Jesus.
Jesus was the first Man to die and be buried and then be resurrected in a new Body that will never see death again.
Thus Jesus is the firstfruits of the resurrection.
I CORINTHIANS 15:20
But now is Christ risen from the dead, and become the firstfruits of them that slept.
I CORINTHIANS 15:23
But every man in his own order: Christ the firstfruits; afterward they that are Christ's at his coming.
Our celebration of the firstfruits is not for an earthly harvest of crops, though a harvest is essential to give people food.
We celebrate the resurrection of Christ who is the only religious leader who died and rose again in a resurrected body that will never die again.
His empty grave is the triumphant sign of Christianity.
Christ rose from the dead and waved farewell to death, hell, and the grave.
Thus the preachers must wave the example and power of Christ before the people.
A wave is a movement, not a fixed tradition. He is the only Man to conquer death.
LEVITICUS 23:11
And he shall wave the sheaf before the LORD, to be accepted for you:
on the morrow after the sabbath the priest shall wave it.
When must preachers wave a risen Saviour before the people?
On the morrow (the tomorrow) after the Sabbath.
The Sabbath is a Saturday so the tomorrow after the Sabbath is a Sunday.
Why this sudden emphasis on Sunday?
Because Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.
Thus Sunday worship fulfils this portion of the Law.
LEVITICUS 23:15
And ye shall count unto you from the morrow after the sabbath, from the day that ye brought the sheaf of the wave offering; seven sabbaths shall be complete:
:16 Even unto the morrow after the seventh sabbath shall ye number fifty days; and ye shall offer a new meat offering unto the LORD.
After the firstfruits festival which was a shadow of the celebration of the Sunday resurrection of Jesus, the Jews had to wait seven Sabbaths which means seven weeks (7 x 7 = 49 days).
Then on the tomorrow after the seventh Sabbath or Saturday, which would be a Sunday, they had the feast of Pentecost (which means fifty).
What did this festival represent?
The baptism of the Holy Ghost on the day of Pentecost, which was a Sunday.
ACTS 2:1
And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
Sunday received a sudden importance.
Jesus rose from the dead on a Sunday.
Thus the Light of the Gospel which says “He is risen” struck the Earth on a Sunday.
The baptism of the Holy Spirit also began on a Sunday.
In the beginning, when God created natural light, this natural light struck the Earth on the first day, which is a Sunday. Sunday is the day that symbolizes light.
The day of Pentecost was also a Sunday. That was the day that the disciples received the baptism of the Holy Ghost and the church started its mission.
Sunday had thus always been a part of Jewish worship. But they had been unable to grasp the deeper significance of these Sunday festivals.
The concept of a day starts in Genesis. God’s day is a thousand years.
GENESIS 1:
:3 And God said, Let there be light: and there was light.
:4 And God saw the light, that it was good: and God divided the light from the darkness.
:5 And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The first time that natural sunlight struck the earth was the first day of God’s special Week.
In God’s time, a day is a thousand years.
Man’s day is 24 hours.
In the beginning, there was no man, so we must use God’s time for making the earth a suitable place for man to dwell on.
The first time that natural sunlight struck the earth was the first day of God’s special Week. This is equivalent to God’s Sunday.
PSALM 90:4
For a thousand years in thy sight are but as yesterday when it is past, and as a watch in the night.
II PETER 3:8
But, beloved, be not ignorant of this one thing, that one day is with the Lord as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day.
The first day of man’s human week is Sunday. That is the day of the resurrection when the spiritual Light first struck the earth that Christ had risen from the dead.
It was also on a Sunday that the Holy Ghost fell on the Day of Pentecost to get the first church age into action (the Book of Acts). This remains the model for the end-time church.
GENESIS 1: 5
And God called the light Day, and the darkness he called Night. And the evening and the morning were the first day.
The day starts in the evening and continues through the next morning. Why?
Light is God’s Word.
PSALM 119:105
NUN. Thy word is a lamp unto my feet, and a light unto my path.
God’s Word was believed by the early church but then lost in the Dark Ages. It was partially restored in the days of the reformation that started with Luther preaching that people must get saved by faith and then the missionary age that started with Wesley preaching holiness and outreach. Then the Pentecostal revival restored the power of the Holy Spirit. But none of these great movements was able to restore a deep understanding of the mysteries of God contained in Scripture.
What was the original sin? What is the serpent’s seed? Who is the beast? What is the image of the beast? What is the Name of God? ( Father, Son, and Holy Ghost is not a name) and many other issues.
ZECHARIAH 14:7
But it shall be one day which shall be known to the LORD, not day, nor night: but it shall come to pass, that at evening time it shall be light.
But Truth is restored in the Evening time through Brother Branham’s ministry, just before the Lord returns.Truth can only be restored when the seventh or evening age is restored back to the beliefs of the apostles who established the New Testament truth in the morning, during the first church age.
The dead in Christ from the 2000 years of the church ages will rise, the living church will be changed. Thus all the true believers will briefly be on earth just before the Lord comes.
White light is made up of seven colours. So the Bride from all seven ages represents the true Light on Earth.
A three-sided glass prism will break up a thin beam of white light into 7 dominant colours.
But light cannot mix with darkness. The 3.5 years of great Tribulation represents darkness.
When the seventh church age is finished, then follows the night of great Tribulation which the Bride misses when she is caught up to Heaven. That is why verse 5 of Genesis Chapter 1 does not mention "night".
Then comes the Morning of the great Millenium Day (of 1000 years) when Christ and His Bride return and the earth is ruled by Christ, Who is the true Light, for 1000 years.
Morning has a double meaning. The start of the seven church ages and the start of the great Millennium day of 1000 years,
REVELATION 20:6
Blessed and holy is he that hath part in the first resurrection: on such the second death hath no power, but they shall be priests of God and of Christ, and shall reign with him a thousand years.
God brought forth life on Earth during 6 of God’s Days (6000 years). The son of God (Adam) and his bride were to rule on Earth for the 7th day of 1000 years. This part of God’s plan was wrecked by sin. So when Jesus the Son of God and His Bride (the true church) reign on Earth for 1000 years then they will have fulfilled God’s original plan.
This Millennium, the 1000-year Kingdom, is the true seventh day.
God set out His Law in the Old Testament but it was actually just an outline or shadow of a much deeper concept, the New Testament revelation of Grace.
The Old Law was harsh because it is the nature of Law to be harsh.
It was man trying to live up to God’s standards by his own works and efforts.
Animal blood brought forgiveness from sin but could not take away the desire to sin.
The life or spirit of the animal that dwelt in the blood of the animal could not dwell in human hearts to take away their sinful desires.
Grace brought the Blood of Jesus to cleanse our sins and then the promise of the Holy Spirit which was the Life that dwelt in the Blood of Christ.
The Holy Spirit would then come into our hearts to take away the desire to sin and make us want to live a better life. Not regarding the Bible as a set of rules that are contrary to our nature but an indwelling Spirit that changes our desires so that we want to live holy in God’s presence.
We must obey His demands. But we must love Him above all else and want to obey and follow Him. Not out of obligation but out of love. Not because we have to, but because we want to.
HEBREWS 8:10
For this is the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel after those days, saith the Lord; I will put my laws into their mind, and write them in their hearts: and I will be to them a God, and they shall be to me a people:
“Laws” speak of self-discipline in our minds and “hearts” speak of personal desires.
Our personal desires will line up with God’s requirements and His Will if we allow His Spirit to dwell within our hearts and cleanse us from sin and give us a new nature that wants to obey His Word.
The Law of God and the Sabbath are just a Shadow
The Sabbath is part of the Law of God.
The Law itself is perfect.
PSALM 19:7
The law of the LORD is perfect, converting the soul: the testimony of the LORD is sure, making wise the simple.
There is no fault in the Law, it is perfect.
The problem with the Law is that even when we obey it,
it does not make us perfect.
The Law is a nice ideal that we messy humans cannot properly achieve in practice.
HEBREWS 7:19
For the law made nothing perfect, but the bringing in of a better hope did; by the which we draw nigh unto God.
The Law was a set of requirements that only Christ could keep.
The Law was an outline or shadow that pointed to something deeper.
Each sacrificial lamb that was offered pointed to Christ, the real Lamb.
The blood of a lamb could cover sin but it could not change the nature of the sinner.
The Blood of Christ could wash sin away which was much better. And then the Life that was in His Blood could come into our hearts as the Holy Ghost and take away from us the desire to sin.
HEBREWS 10:1
For the law having a shadow of good things to come, and not the very image of the things, can never with those sacrifices which they offered year by year continually make the comers thereunto perfect.
The Law was a shadow. A shadow shows you the outline of an object but the shadow is not the real thing.
The law has to be continuously repeated. If you have to keep taking medicine, that is a sign that the medicine has not actually cured you.
Calvary and His death on the cross settled the sin issue once and for all.
It required no repetition. A repetitive rest from work every Saturday was just an outline of the real, continuous rest from sin when God’s Spirit rests within us.
ISAIAH 42:21
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
There was nothing wrong with the Law but it was limited in that it was only a shadow or an outline.
The Law found its true meaning when it was magnified in Christ as its fulfillment.
Christ came to fulfill the law and give it a deeper meaning. He is the true sacrificial Lamb. He is the true High Priest.
Equally, when we allow Christ to dwell within our hearts, He gives a much deeper meaning and purpose to our lives.
MATTHEW 5:17
Think not that I am come to destroy the law, or the prophets: I am not come to destroy, but to fulfil.
The Law was not capable of saving mankind. The Law pointed to Christ.
Then Christ would be the Saviour. This was the real fulfillment of the Law.
Grace permitted this great Saviour to dwell within us so that He can make us part of His great plan of redemption.
GALATIANS 3:10
For as many as are of the works of the law are under the curse: for it is written, Cursed is every one that continueth not in all things which are written in the book of the law to do them.
We cannot be saved by our good works, because we humans cannot keep all the laws.
For instance, Christ pointed out that it is simply impossible for everyone to do absolutely no work on a Saturday. Preachers still have to preach. Animals must be cared for. Emergencies must be coped with. And then other days of the month kept slipping in as Sabbath days and even Sunday appeared twice as a special day of worship.
GALATIANS 3:13
Christ hath redeemed us from the curse of the law, being made a curse for us: for it is written, Cursed is every one that hangeth on a tree:
Christ did not redeem us from the law. He redeemed us from the curse of the law.
The curse of the law is that it can tell us what sin is but it cannot stop us from wanting to sin.
Basically, the law is limited. Even when it points out what is right, it is an external set of rules that we must apply by self-discipline. It is basically us human beings trying hard to please God. We have to obey Him to achieve His approval. This compulsion can induce obedient behavior even if the person would rather do something else. This is a severe limitation of the law.
We need a change of our inner nature until we have a desire to live by God’s Word. God, as the Holy Spirit, dwelling in us makes us want to obey His Word. We do not do it in the hope of a reward (Heaven) or in the fear of punishment (hell). We do it simply because we love to please Him.
JEREMIAH 31:33
But this shall be the covenant that I will make with the house of Israel; After those days, saith the LORD, I will put my law in their inward parts, and write it in their hearts; and will be their God, and they shall be my people.
Born again means that God creates new desires within us because He lives within us.
We then do His works because He guides us and makes us want to do His will.
We no longer follow our own ideas and ambitions, nor do we do our own works.
Good works are not sufficient in themselves, they also have to fit into God’s bigger plan.
ROMANS 7:6
But now we are delivered from the law, that being dead wherein we were held; that we should serve in newness of spirit, and not in the oldness of the letter.
ROMANS 8:2
For the law of the Spirit of life in Christ Jesus hath made me free from the law of sin and death.
Basically, Christ’s Spirit changes us and makes us want to obey God.
The Law compelled us to obey God but could not make us willing volunteers.
DEUTERONOMY 6:4
Hear, O Israel: The LORD our God is one LORD:
:5 And thou shalt love the LORD thy God with all thine heart, and with all thy soul, and with all thy might.
We Gentiles come from heathen backgrounds which believed in many gods. Thus we are easily convinced that there is more than one Person in the Godhead.
Even when we love God we also struggle with the love of self, the love of fashion, the love of materialism, the love of gain, the love of popularity, etc.
We need Jesus in our hearts to make us realize that He alone is God. He alone can make us love Him fully in the way that we should.
NEHEMIAH 13:19
And it came to pass, that when the gates of Jerusalem began to be dark before the sabbath, I commanded that the gates should be shut, and charged that they should not be opened till after the sabbath: and some of my servants set I at the gates, that there should no burden be brought in on the sabbath day.
Burdens are not part of the Sabbath rest.
MATTHEW 11:28
Come unto me, all ye that labour and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest.
Jesus was not offering work-burdened people a physical rest on Saturdays. They already had that.
Our real burden is sin.
We need Jesus to wash away our sins and unbelief. Then we can rest in Him.
MATTHEW 11:29
Take my yoke upon you, and learn of me; for I am meek and lowly in heart: and ye shall find rest unto your souls.
Jesus offers us the rest from sin. Our souls do not get tired. The body gets tired.
But our souls find no rest in a sinful lifestyle.
The repentant heart is the Throne of God
ISAIAH 58:13
If thou turn away thy foot from the sabbath, from doing thy pleasure on my holy day; and call the sabbath a delight, the holy of the LORD, honourable; and shalt honour him,
not doing thine own ways, nor finding thine own pleasure, nor speaking thine own words:
Self is not a part of the Sabbath. We find no real spiritual rest when we do our own thing.
ISAIAH 66:1
Thus saith the LORD, The heaven is my throne, and the earth is my footstool: where is the house that ye build unto me? and where is the place of my rest?
God wants to dwell in human hearts.
God cannot rest within human hearts while we pursue our own agendas.
ISAIAH 11:2
And the spirit of the LORD shall rest upon him, the spirit of wisdom and understanding, the spirit of counsel and might, the spirit of knowledge and of the fear of the LORD;
Jesus was the first Man that the fullness of God’s Spirit could dwell in and rest confidently in Him because as a Man, He always obeyed the indwelling Spirit of God.
A car must totally obey the driver. We are the vehicle that God wants to drive around in. He cannot trust us or rest in us until we sacrifice our own will and completely obey His Will without questioning Him.
MATTHEW 26:39
And he went a little further, and fell on his face, and prayed, saying, O my Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me: nevertheless not as I will, but as thou wilt.
ISAIAH 63:14
As a beast goeth down into the valley,
the Spirit of the LORD caused him to rest:
so didst thou lead thy people, to make thyself a glorious name.
Rest is caused by the Spirit of God.
Rest depends on us sacrificing our own free will and accepting God’s will in its place.
ISAIAH 28:
:11 For with stammering lips and another tongue will he speak to this people.
:12 To whom he said, This is the rest wherewith ye may cause the weary to rest; and this is the refreshing: yet they would not hear.
This refers to the day of Pentecost when they spoke with other tongues.
The Holy Spirit entered human hearts on that day. This is what made the disciples into the true church.
ACTS 2:
:1 And when the day of Pentecost was fully come, they were all with one accord in one place.
:2 And suddenly there came a sound from heaven as of a rushing mighty wind, and it filled all the house where they were sitting.
:3 And there appeared unto them cloven tongues like as of fire, and it sat upon each of them.
:4 And they were all filled with the Holy Ghost, and began to speak with other tongues, as the Spirit gave them utterance.
PSALM 95:11
Unto whom I sware in my wrath that they should not enter into my rest.
The Jews kept the Saturday rest from works very religiously. But this was not the real rest.
Christ was their real rest from sin as He alone could pay the price of sin.
But they would not find that rest as they chose to crucify their Saviour rather than accept Him.
JOHN 12:32
And I, if I be lifted up from the earth, will draw all men unto me.
Jesus was lifted up on a cross, between Heaven and Earth, like a flag or a banner that is lifted up so that people could see His death as the door from Earth to Heaven.
ISAIAH 11:10
And in that day there shall be a root of Jesse,
[Jesus, the Son of David who was the son of Jesse]
which shall stand for an ensign
[an ensign is a banner that is lifted up … Jesus lifted up on the Cross]
of the people; to it shall the Gentiles seek: and his rest shall be glorious.
His Blood washed away our sins and His Holy Spirit, the Life in His Blood, comes to dwell in our hearts and take away the desire for sin. Only then do we rest from our sins.
The crucified Saviour, rejected by the Jews, would be accepted by the Gentiles.
People would repent, be baptized in the Name of Jesus Christ, and be filled with the Holy Spirit. This is the true rest from sin.
ISAIAH 42:21
The LORD is well pleased for his righteousness' sake; he will magnify the law, and make it honourable.
GALATIANS 3:2
This only would I learn of you, Received ye the Spirit by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
If we knew and believed what the Law (the Old Testament) said, we would recognize its fulfillment in the New Testament and move into its deeper spiritual meanings and fulfillment.
GALATIANS 3:5
He therefore that ministereth to you the Spirit, and worketh miracles among you, doeth he it by the works of the law, or by the hearing of faith?
Miracles are due to faith and grace of the indwelling Spirit, not good works.
ROMANS 6:15
What then? shall we sin, because we are not under the law, but under grace? God forbid.
Grace requires good works, just as much as the Law did.
Claiming the right to sin because God will forgive us is merely claiming that God does not dwell within us. God never wants to sin.
But the real sin is unbelief
All the works of sin (smoking, drinking, lying, stealing, etc.) are simply attributes of unbelief.
JOHN 16:8
And when he is come, he will reprove the world of sin, and of righteousness, and of judgment:
:9 Of sin, because they believe not on me;
If we really believed in God we would not do those things.
Only the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, can completely remove our unbelief and guide us into all truth.
JOHN 16:13
Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth: for he shall not speak of himself; but whatsoever he shall hear, that shall he speak: and he will shew you things to come.
Trying to find all truth on our own is not an option. We are too limited by our ignorance, our prejudices, our traditions, our culture, our love-of-self, etc.
We see what we wish to see, and there is no escaping the prison of our prejudices.
The self-discipline of the Law can help us to stop sinning but it cannot take away our desire to sin.
The self-discipline of obeying the Law cannot open our eyes to the deeper fulfillment of the Law in the New Testament.
Only the Holy Spirit can remove from us the desire to want to sin. Only the Holy Spirit can open our eyes and reveal to us the true spiritual meaning of all the aspects of the Law and show us what they symbolized.
JOHN 16:21
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
The baby did no works in order to be born.
So our own human works or labour do not produce rest or rebirth.
The Jews kept the Saturday Sabbath but did not enter the true rest.
They lost out because of unbelief.
Unbelief is the real sin. Unbelief is the actual source of sin.
Unbelief starts in our souls as the mindset to think wrong and then our thoughts motivate us to do wrong in our flesh.
All our obvious sins (smoking, drinking, etc.) are simply attributes of unbelief. If we truly believed, we would not do wrong things.
JOHN 8:24
... for if ye believe not that I am he, ye shall die in your sins.
If we believe not, we are sinners.
God does not sin.
We find no real rest as long as we sin because our sins separate us from God.
ISAIAH 59:2
But your iniquities have separated between you and your God, and your sins have hid his face from you, that he will not hear
We can rest from physical work but we have no rest in our conscience if we sin.
PSALM 38:3
There is no soundness in my flesh because of thine anger; neither is there any rest in my bones because of my sin.
So the real Sabbath is actually a rest from sin.
How can we achieve this?
HEBREWS 4:5
And in this place again, If they shall enter into my rest.
:6 Seeing therefore it remaineth that some must enter therein, and they to whom it was first preached entered not in because of unbelief:
God has a place of rest for us but only if we believe.
We enter into our rest by faith when His Spirit enters our hearts.
Unbelief will keep us out of that rest.
HEBREWS 4:11
Let us labour therefore to enter into that rest, lest any man fall after the same example of unbelief
Unbelief keeps us out of the real rest because unbelievers cannot accept the Holy Spirit which would enable them to be born again.
The above verse is almost a contradiction: “ no rest without labour ”.
But the word “labour” reminds one of childbirth.
This hints at being born again.
JOHN 16:21
A woman when she is in travail hath sorrow, because her hour is come: but as soon as she is delivered of the child, she remembereth no more the anguish, for joy that a man is born into the world.
A mother is in labour until the birth is complete.
Then she rests from her labour. Her labour is complete.
We struggle against sin until the Holy Spirit changes our desires and we no longer want to sin.
EXODUS 20:8
Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Six is the number of man.
Man was created on the sixth day. We fall just short of completion which is seven.
Why? Because we have sin in our lives.
Thus “six” symbolizes that human works are undermined by sinful works and motives due to the fallen nature of man.
As humans, we cannot see the Big Picture. We are too self-centred, too self-obsessed with our petty and greedy desires to gain.
Six days also symbolizes the six thousand years of human works on planet earth.
God created a paradise and mankind chose sin and self-will which wrecked God’s Eden and human history has shown that man is not capable of solving his own problems and man certainly cannot create a paradise on earth.
So God wants to free us from sin.
By His Spirit, by His Blood but not by our own works.
Working for six days is symbolic of human works. They all ultimately fail.
So we must get saved, live holy, and be filled with God’s Spirit.
This is the rebirth when we are controlled by God’s Spirit.
Then we stop living our own lives and let God’s Spirit live within us to direct our steps.
COLOSSIANS 1:27
To whom God would make known what is the riches of the glory of this mystery among the Gentiles; which is Christ in you, the hope of glory:
Only Christ can forgive sin.
REVELATION 1:5
And from Jesus Christ, who is the faithful witness, and the first begotten of the dead, and the prince of the kings of the earth. Unto him that loved us, and washed us from our sins in his own blood.
ISAIAH 64:6
But we are all as an unclean thing, and all our righteousnesses are as filthy rags;and we all do fade as a leaf; and our iniquities, like the wind, have taken us away.
Our good works cannot cleanse us from sin.
LEVITICUS 23:3
Six days shall work be done: but the seventh day is the sabbath of rest, an holy convocation;
ye shall do no work therein:
it is the sabbath of the LORD in all your dwellings.
We can do no good works that will earn us salvation.
EPHESIANS 2:
:8 For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
:9 Not of works, lest any man should boast.
ROMANS 7:18
For I know that in me (that is, in my flesh,) dwelleth no good thing: for to will is present with me; but how to perform that which is good I find not.
We must surrender our self-will so that God’s Will and God’s Word control our lives.
PHILIPPIANS 2:13
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.
Rest is only possible if our actions and our motives do not clash.
We cannot be saved by our own works. Then we would be boasters, emphasizing self.
This does not mean that good works are not important. But the good works we do must not be done by ourselves. These good works must be motivated by the Holy Spirit that dwells within us and controls us.
Then we have done nothing in our own strength and thus cannot boast.
JAMES 2:18
Yea, a man may say, Thou hast faith, and I have works: shew me thy faith without thy works, and I will shew thee my faith by my works.
JAMES 2:22
Seest thou how faith wrought with his works, and by works was faith made perfect?
JAMES 2:24
Ye see then how that by works a man is justified, and not by faith only.
Without good works, our faith is not what it should be.
Our faith must enable us to do good works.
Our visible works are an indication or reflection of our invisible faith.
Faith gives us life but good works protect that life.
Faith is like the sap of life in the tree. Good works are like the protecting bark of the tree. Remove the bark and the sap dries up.
Only Jesus can inspire or lead you to fulfill His perfect will.
Only God knows what He wants you to do for Him.
HEBREWS 10:7
Then said I, Lo, I come (in the volume of the book it is written of me,) to do thy will, O God.
We must only do what is written in the Bible. What is written for our church age.
:8 Above when he said, Sacrifice and offering and burnt offerings and offering for sin thou wouldest not, neither hadst pleasure therein; which are offered by the law;
:9 Then said he, Lo, I come to do thy will, O God. He taketh away the first, that he may establish the second.
Our only purpose on God’s earth is to do God’s Will, not our own will.
The only sacrifice that you can actually offer to God that is worthwhile is when you willingly offer up your own free will and in its place accept His Will for your life and His Will for this earth.
If we don’t work on Saturday in order to keep the Sabbath rest instead of being filled with the Holy Spirit which makes us rest from sin and unbelief, then it means we do not understand God’s New Testament plan.
That means God is not sufficiently in control of us and cannot properly guide us into His full Truth and into His perfect will.
The Law, which includes the Saturday Sabbath, has other limitations in time.
LEVITICUS 25:4
But in the seventh year shall be a sabbath of rest unto the land, a sabbath for the LORD: thou shalt neither sow thy field, nor prune thy vineyard.
Sabbath does not just refer to a day, it can also refer to a year.
Here it refers to the land. The land has to rest for a full year. This year’s rest when the fields lie fallow has got nothing to do with Saturday. Because of sin, God cursed the ground. Even the ground needs a rest from producing food.
GENESIS 3:17
And unto Adam he said, Because thou hast hearkened unto the voice of thy wife, and hast eaten of the tree, of which I commanded thee, saying, Thou shalt not eat of it: cursed is the ground for thy sake; in sorrow shalt thou eat of it all the days of thy life;
:18 Thorns also and thistles shall it bring forth to thee; and thou shalt eat the herb of the field;
:19 In the sweat of thy face shalt thou eat bread, till thou return unto the ground; for out of it wast thou taken: for dust thou art, and unto dust shalt thou return.
Because of original sin, the ground was cursed. The ground now brings forth good food and thorns, thistles (weeds), etc.
Agriculture today is a struggle against weeds and pests.
Man and the ground both had to work hard to produce food. Both needed a rest, mankind every seventh day and the ground every seventh year.
But when sin is finally abolished, this curse will be lifted.
Then there is no more hard work and no more need for a rest day or a rest year.
But until then we need a rest from hard work which we cannot escape but we are able to find a rest from the desires of sin when Christ dwells within us.
To atone for sin, Jesus sweated Blood in the garden of Gethsemane. Sweat was part of God’s curse and sweat now touched the Blood of Jesus.
LUKE 22:44
And being in an agony he prayed more earnestly: and his sweat was as it were great drops of blood falling down to the ground.
Thorns were pushed into His head as a crown.
Thorns were part of God’s curse and thorns now touched the Blood of Jesus.
MATTHEW 27:29
And when they had platted a crown of thorns, they put it upon his head,
The Jews hated Him so much that they took Him outside the city to crucify Him on the hill of Calvary. That way His Blood dripped onto the ground, not onto the paving stones in the city.
God cursed the ground in Adam's day. The Blood of Jesus now dripped onto the ground.
Thus sweat, thorns, and ground were all touched by the Blood of Jesus to redeem the curse that was made in the garden of Eden.
So in the future, there will be no more curse. The ground will easily and abundantly produce food as there will be no thorns, thistles (weeds), pests, etc.
Meanwhile, if our hearts are touched by the Blood of Jesus, we too can find forgiveness and thus rest from our sins.
The earth is not a good place for trying to establish time.
When the sun sets for you, it is sunrise on the opposite side of the earth.
Time is a temporary thing.
Eventually, time will be done away with when we become part of eternity.
There is another time limit on the Law, which includes the Sabbath.
The Law applies only in this life, not after death.
ROMANS 7:1
Know ye not, brethren, (for I speak to them that know the law,) how that the law hath dominion over a man as long as he liveth?
The law has no dominion in the next life, after we have died. When you die and go to Heaven, you will find that there is no Saturday there, as time is something that God introduced on Earth. Heaven is timeless.
No night nor time in Heaven and thus no 7th day or week
Nowhere does the Bible speak of sleeping in Heaven. There is no mention of night in Heaven.
In Revelation Chapter 10 when the mighty Angel comes down at the time of the resurrection to raise the dead and change the living into immortal bodies so that the Bride of Christ can ascend to Heaven for the wedding feast, then time ceases for those resurrected saints (as time has no effect on you when you are immortal).
Time, like the Law, was a temporary thing that played its role for a while.
But time will fade out when eternity rolls in.
REVELATION 10:5
And the angel which I saw stand upon the sea and upon the earth lifted up his hand to heaven,
:6 And sware by him that liveth for ever and ever, who created heaven, and the things that therein are, and the earth, and the things that therein are, and the sea, and the things which are therein,
that there should be time no longer:
So ultimately time will cease as time is not a part of eternity.
We are born and live in time and thus we cannot understand how God always was.
We have to be re-created in new bodies to dwell in eternity. Then time will have no meaning for us.
When there is no longer any more time, the concept of Saturday also ceases.
Eventually, there will be no more sea and no more night.
Without night, there is no concept of a day
Eternity will be one long endless day.
JOB 26:10 He hath compassed the waters with bounds,
until the day and night come to an end.
Day and night will come to an end when there is no more sea.
REVELATION 21:1 And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
The sea will finally explode after the Millennium, which is the first Heaven, because it will be the first taste of Heaven on earth when Jesus rules for 1000 years. Then time on earth ends for everyone.
In the final city, New Jerusalem, even the concept of sunlight fades out. All physical things merely are shadows of a deeper spiritual reality that we cannot see with physical eyes.
REVELATION 21:9
And there came unto me one of the seven angels which had the seven vials full of the seven last plagues, and talked with me, saying, Come hither, I will shew thee the bride, the Lamb's wife.
:10 And he carried me away in the spirit to a great and high mountain, and shewed me that great city, the holy Jerusalem, descending out of heaven from God,
:11 Having the glory of God: and her light was like unto a stone most precious, even like a jasper stone, clear as crystal;
The city had its own light, Christ.
Ultimately, when the holy city, that huge pyramid, comes down on the earth at the end, God will be the Capstone thereof.
That city will be in permanent light because God is light.
A light on top of a pyramid casts no shadows on the sides of the pyramid.
I JOHN 1:5
This then is the message which we have heard of him, and declare unto you, that God is light, and in him is no darkness at all.
REVELATION 21:23
And the city had no need of the sun,
neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
So at the end, there will be no day nor night in that city.
Thus the concept of a Sabbath as every seventh day will have no meaning in that place of permanent light.
But with Jesus ruling over all, there will be an endless rest from sin and its repercussions and regrets because there will be no sin there.
REVELATION 21:22
And I saw no temple therein: for the Lord God Almighty and the Lamb are the temple of it.
The city where the Bride of Christ finally lives is bathed in eternal light. Continual light. No sunlight is needed because sunlight is intermittent as darkness follows daylight in a repetitive manner.
But Christ is the constant, eternal Light of that city.
In Him is no darkness. Thus there will be no night there. Without night, you cannot number days because nighttime marks the end of daylight. Thus the idea of Saturday disappears.
REVELATION 21:24
And the nations of them which are saved shall walk in the light of it: and the kings of the earth do bring their glory and honour into it.
:25 And the gates of it shall not be shut at all by day: for there shall be no night there
Darkness (a symbol of sin) will finally be banished.
There will be no night in that huge city.
Without night to mark the end of a day, there can be no Saturday. There will just be one endless, eternal day.
So ultimately there will be no more Saturdays. But everyone in that great city will be filled with the Holy Spirit as they enjoy their eternal rest from sin.
We live in time now on planet Earth where we understand the idea of a day called Saturday.
The next stage will be a Millenium where Christ and His true church, the Bride, will rule on Earth for a thousand years. The heathen who survive the tribulation and Armageddon will be the nations that are ruled.
Sin will still be present on Earth but kept in check by a rod of iron, forcing people to behave.
REVELATION 2:26
And he that overcometh, and keepeth my works unto the end, to him will I give power over the nations:
:27 And he shall rule them with a rod of iron; as the vessels of a potter shall they be broken to shivers: even as I received of my Father.
As Jesus will no longer be on the mercy seat in Heaven, the people on Earth, during the Millenium or thousand years of peace, will go back to a form of temple worship similar to what it was in the Old Testament to atone for their sins.
This will once again involve Saturday worship as the Sabbath for the survivors of the 3.5 years of great Tribulation, in order to cover their sins.
ISAIAH 66:22
For as the new heavens and the new earth, which I will make, shall remain before me, saith the LORD, so shall your seed and your name remain.
:23 And it shall come to pass, that from one new moon to another, and from one sabbath to another, shall all flesh come to worship before me, saith the LORD.
This is not the new heavens and the new earth which go into eternity.
This is "as" the new heavens and the new earth. The only similar time to eternity will be the 1000 years of peace which we call the Millennium. There a 1000 years only counts as one day. So that day will "seem" to go on almost forever.
During the Millenium, the people on Earth will still be in time but sin will be suppressed. So it will be “as the new heavens and the new earth”. The world will be ruled by Jesus, as it will be in the sinless new heaven and the new earth, but in the Millenium, there will still be sin. Thus there will have to be ceremonial temple worship to atone for sin.
The first Heaven.
The thousand years of rule by Jesus will be the first Heaven, the first taste of Heaven on Earth. But sin will be present amongst these unsaved nations who survived Armageddon.
When the thousand years are over, despite having been ruled in peace by Jesus, the vast majority of the the people will choose Satan and revolt against Jesus and His Bride and be destroyed by fire from Heaven.
REVELATION 20:7 And when the thousand years are expired, Satan shall be loosed out of his prison,
:8 And shall go out to deceive the nations which are in the four quarters of the earth,
Gog and Magog,
to gather them together to battle: the number of whom is as the sand of the sea.
REVELATION 20:9 And they went up on the breadth of the earth, and compassed the camp of the saints about, and the beloved city: and fire came down from God out of heaven, and devoured them.
This will be a formidable host as they are called Gog and Magog.
The vast hordes that oppose Christ at Armageddon are just called Gog.
Gog from the land of Magog.
EZEKIEL 38:2 Son of man, set thy face against Gog, the land of Magog, the chief prince of Meshech and Tubal, and prophesy against him,
The rebel horde after the Millennium will be much bigger than the horde at Armageddon. Thus unsaved people will not be happy in Heaven. Even after 1000 years of peace under Jesus, they will prefer to follow Satan.
The sea will explode and be no more. This will destroy the whole crust of the Earth and wipe out all germs and diseases as well as all traces of human civilization.
Nothing of this world is wanted in eternity.
REVELATION 21:1
And I saw a new heaven and a new earth: for the first heaven and the first earth were passed away; and there was no more sea.
Then a huge city with a square base of 1500 miles by 1500 miles will descend from Heaven. It is in the form of a pyramid and has a slant height of 1500 miles also.
REVELATION 21:16
And the city lieth foursquare, and the length is as large as the breadth: and he measured the city with the reed, twelve thousand furlongs. The length and the breadth and the height of it are equal.
God will sit on top as the Capstone and be the Light of the city. A pyramid is the only shape that has no shadows on its sides if the light source is placed on top as its capstone.
REVELATION 21:23 And the city had no need of the sun, neither of the moon, to shine in it: for the glory of God did lighten it, and the Lamb is the light thereof.
The Bride, who will live in the city that looks like a giant pyramid, will be in perpetual light.
In this new Heaven and new Earth there will be no more sea, no more time, and no more sin.
Thus the very concept of Saturday will have no meaning.
Saturday, the original symbol of rest as a consequence of original sin, will be no more.
Every official document must have a seal or stamp of the ruler.
For example, Elizabeth, Queen of England.
Her seal gives her name, her title, and her territory.
The only document that God Himself wrote was the 10 commandments. So it had to be stamped with His seal.
EXODUS 20
:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
:9 Six days shalt thou labour, and do all thy work:
:10 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work, thou, nor thy son, nor thy daughter, thy manservant, nor thy maidservant, nor thy cattle, nor thy stranger that is within thy gates:
:11 For in six days the LORD made heaven and earth, the sea, and all that in them is, and rested the seventh day: wherefore the LORD blessed the sabbath day, and hallowed it.
Verse 11 is God’s stamp or seal.
The LORD (Jehovah – His Old Testament name) made (Creator or Maker is His title. He made us, thus He is entitled to tell us what to do) heaven, earth, and sea (His territory).
If you do not want to live in His territory then your only other option is hell.
So the fourth commandment is the seal of the ten commandments in the Old Testament.
But the seal of God in the New Testament is the Holy Spirit baptism.
The name Jehovah is never mentioned in the New Testament.
Jesus is the name of God in the New Testament.
EPHESIANS 4:30
And grieve not the holy Spirit of God, whereby ye are sealed unto the day of redemption.
So the Sabbath day fourth Commandment in the Old Testament is a shadow of the Holy Spirit baptism in the New Testament.
The Blood cleanses us and then the Spirit seals our thinking into the Kingdom.
Only then can we rest in Christ and cease from our sinful works and motives.
EXODUS 20:8 Remember the sabbath day, to keep it holy.
:9 But the seventh day is the sabbath of the LORD thy God: in it thou shalt not do any work
God does not want our works as we are selfish and sinful.
God wants to dwell in our hearts and use us to do His works.
He wants to be the Driver of our vessels.
We cannot please God if we are in control of our own lives.
He expects us to live clean and holy lives but He wants His Will to be fulfilled in our lives.
He wants to guide our footsteps.
He wants us to understand His Scriptures.
JOHN 16:13 Howbeit when he, the Spirit of truth, is come, he will guide you into all truth:
When God dwells in us and fully controls us, then only will we find true rest.