Music. For whoever has entered God's rest has also rested from his works as God did from his. That's from Hebrews chapter 4 and verse 10. This is the Essential Bible Studies podcast. My name is Tim Young. And my name is Ted Hodge. I'd like to welcome you back, Ted, to the Essential Bible Studies podcast. It's been a while.
It has. Yeah, it's great to be back on this subject. So I know you've been looking at this subject very deeply, and I says, we've got to have you on for this episode because we're going to be talking about the Sabbath, the day of rest that we read about throughout the Bible that becomes this question about, well, are we supposed to be keeping the Sabbath or not? And it relates to the bigger picture about the law of Moses and those kinds of things.
So in this podcast, podcasts, we're going to be taking a bigger overview of the subject, starting from the beginning and working through it as good Bible students and trying to get an overall bird's-eye view of this subject, which I think is really important for us. And then we're actually going to have to split it up into two parts.
In the second part, we're going to come back and talk about some Christian groups who actually practice the Sabbath and what are the reasons or maybe not reasons that we would agree with that or not. So let's start first with talking about this bigger picture, eh, Ted? Yeah, and I think this is one of the ways that we can approach a lot of Bible subjects is to look at the big picture. And what we would suggest is looking at various epochs of time.
And so if you do that, you can get a bit of a sense of what are the specific principles and instructions for that epoch of time. In biblical sense, it'd be like an age or something like that yeah you can see that word and the bible has very very specific ages or periods of time and we can then you know very carefully look at what the principle is that doesn't change and then maybe the expectations or the behaviors the practices that do change and.
You know, in this subject, we've got to be very careful to be able to prove specifically, you know, what are the requirements in these various epochs of time related to the Sabbath. So when you're talking about changes, that's changes over the epochs of time and say like practices or ceremonies or what the expectations of God are towards believers of different times? Yeah, exactly.
So, we've got certain principles and patterns, but then how those are actually implemented in the period of time changes based on the various laws that govern that particular period of time. And so, you certainly know that in the beginning, the laws revealed to us are more basic. The interactions between God and his servants were different.
But then, obviously, So we have this period of time with the law of Moses, we've got the period of time with the law of Christ, and we've got the kingdom of God. And these are at least four major periods of time where we see variation of practice. Oh, that's interesting. So I think we'd be more familiar with like, there's an Old Testament and a New Testament, which delineates these epochs of time that you're talking about. Right. But so between the law of Moses and when Christ came, right?
Yeah. So, but you're saying there's more than just the Old Testament and New Testament, there's more epochs of time. Yeah, and I think your point's a great one, because if you had to just break it down into two, then I think that would be the natural break. You've got the Hebrew scriptures and the Old Covenant, and you've got the Greek scriptures and the New Covenant. So that would be, if you had to be even simpler in your breakdown, you'd probably look at it from those two perspectives.
But a little closer look shows you that things were different before the Law of Moses and the Genesis period, and things are going to be different in the future in the Kingdom Age. Okay. So, yeah. Four periods. Four periods. So, we have in the four major epochs of time or these ages in the Bible, you have what you call the beginning period, basically in Genesis up to the first parts of Exodus. And Genesis is just one book, but when you look at it, it's covering like 2,500 years years of history.
So it's one of the largest epochs of time, actually, when you look at it. The second one is then when the children of Israel come out of Egypt, and more specifically, when they come to Mount Sinai, they enter into a covenant with God, and the law of Moses is established, the nation of Israel. And that becomes the Mosaic Age, we might call it, this epoch of time. Which lasts like 1,500 years. And then the one we're talking about, when Christ comes, he actually introduces this new epoch of time.
He takes away the law of Moses, and we are living in that time now, right? Right. We claim to be practicing what the apostles did. Right. The apostolic era is our model, and we need to, as disciples of the Lord, follow the practices which were implemented with the new ecclesia. Right. And so, we're in the law of Christ period or the apostolic period, but we know that Christ is coming back.
He's going to establish a kingdom upon the earth. He's told us so, and we see that all throughout Scripture. And the interesting thing is that that really seems to introduce a new epoch of time where there's different practices. There's different ceremonies in that time period in the kingdom of God, which is a thousand years. It's a millennial period. That we're told about, right? Yeah, it's interesting enough.
We'd probably know the least about that first period and the last period, but we do have some good information there to know that it is significantly different than the other two periods. So let's start with these epochs. I think this is really helpful. Where in the first epoch is the Sabbath mentioned? Or maybe what is the Sabbath, too? Well, yeah, we don't have a lot to go on in this Genesis period. Really, it comes down to three occurrences of the word Shabbat.
And we've got this in Genesis 2, verse 2, and verse 3, and chapter 8, verse 22. 2, and really what we find here is that God rested on the seventh day from the creation work that was completed in six days, and he blesses and sanctifies that day. So, in Genesis 2 verse 2, and on the seventh day God finished his work that he had done, and he rested on the seventh day from from all his work that he had done.
So there's no question that there is at least a pattern that is established here at creation. But after that, we don't have a lot to go on. There is a seventh-day pattern here that we believe is utilized in the other periods of time, but there really isn't any other information provided to us at this point. Right, I think it's going to come a little later that really the seventh day is Saturday for the Jewish calendar, right? And they actually start their day on the sunset.
So it would be Friday evening to us into the daytime of Saturday. And then the Sabbath would end on when the sun down on Saturday. We don't see that here, but we see it's the seventh day, which is the Saturday. And I don't think the Sabbath has ever changed in that sense of that it is the seventh day. Some people would argue that the Sabbath day or this day of rest is actually a different day.
But the Sabbath pattern has been established there and we see reference to it in all of these areas, epochs or time. But the issue becomes, you know, what are the practices that are associated with that Sabbath and what are the greater meanings of the Sabbath? Yeah, I would agree going through all those passages in Scripture, like Sunday is not the new Sabbath for Christians. It's always been Saturday and that's the Sabbath day. And so it's just whether a question of keeping it or not.
But here, like you said, that word rested, if we look in a concordance, is the word Sabbath in the Hebrew, but it's a verb form, so we don't really have it coming out here. Yeah. But it's about working or resting. I find it interesting because this idea of work does come up in the very early parts of Genesis. In Genesis 2 and verse 15, it says, The Lord God took the man and put him in the Garden of Eden to work it and keep it.
So, this is a good work that God has given the man to do in this beautiful Garden of Eden. And there's no mention here of a day of rest. It's just work in the Garden of Eden, which is God's work that he's given man. But then I found it interesting as we were talking about this that work is also mentioned after the fall of man right away. way. Genesis 3 and verses 17 to 19, this is part of the curse of Adam.
He says, because you have listened to the voice of your wife and have eaten of the tree of which I commanded you, you shall not eat of it. Cursed is the ground because of you. In pain you shall eat of it all the days of your life. And then specifically in verse 19, it's by the sweat of your face you shall eat bread till you return to the ground, for out of it you were taken, for you are dust. Again, no stipulation about a day of rest here, even though the topic is about work.
The work is very different, though. When sin enters the world, there's thorns and thistles in the garden, and it becomes indicative of man's sinful fallen state, the work that he does for himself to survive. Yeah, there is a focus on self here, and it's not necessarily pleasant to have to work. And I think we'll see that come out in the other scriptures as we go through this. Yeah, it's surprising. Like you said, it's only three times used in Genesis as verbs, and that's it.
There's a lot about the lives of the people in Genesis. There's things that they do to worship God, and sacrifices, and circumcision is established. There's nothing about the Sabbath day. So, it's not until you get to this new epoch of time that we're really introduced to it. Right. And in a big way, because now we've got lots of verses and references in this next epoch of time. This contextually is important for us to understand because, you know, really we have an idolatrous people.
The children of Israel that came from the patriarchs ultimately are a godless people dwelling in Egypt. They don't know the principles of God and they are in need of a great reformation they need to understand their sin they need to understand the ways of God in some sense we've taken a step back and so now there is a law put into place that operates at a very basic level to teach. The children of Israel, the basics of God and about the privileged position that they have.
They certainly need to learn about sin and its solution, which the law wasn't. It was itself not the answer. It spoke to the answer, educated them, and gave them an opportunity to know more about God, to have faith in him, and to live in a godly manner. Yeah, and that's the thing about the law. It's given by God, but it's not meant to be an eternal law. It's a national law for the children of Israel and their kingdom during this time period.
As we get to the New Testament time period in the law of Christ, it's very evident that in a lot of the writings, for example, in Hebrews, it says that the law is a shadow of things to come, of good things to come. It's not the substance, like a shadow is not the substance. The substance is in Christ. It's faith in Christ and those kind of things. So, all of this that we read about in the Law of Moses, it's good.
It's meant to teach not just the Israelites, but us of the holiness of God in a lot of ways. But it was meant to be fulfilled in a lot larger sense, in a more spiritual sense than just sort of legal terms about do this. and don't do this. And Paul talks about it in Romans 7. He says, the law is holy and just and good. But he also says in Romans, all it did was just condemn me because I couldn't do it. And that's not the truth as it is in Christ. Well, let's look at passage here.
Exodus 31 is one I'd like us to take a look at. As we said, there are many references, but this one helps us just get a bit of an understanding of the Sabbath as it relates to this time period, this epoch of time. So let's pick it up at verse 13, Exodus chapter 31. Exodus chapter 31.
So we've got here, 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. So right off the bat, we get a sense that this law is between God and Israel. And we can learn further in what's said later that the Gentiles, Gentiles, those who were living amongst them, were also included and were subject to this law.
But that's important. The law, as it's expressed here, is for God and Israel. The nation of Israel at that time. Right. Not necessarily for all people for all time. Yeah, and then it continues on. It says, You shall keep the Sabbath, because it is holy for you. Everyone who profanes it shall be put to death. death. Whoever does any work on it, that soul shall be cut off from among his people.
So that to me is pretty stark about how important God saw the Sabbath law, keeping it, but begs the question if we're going to keep it. We're not the nation of Israel anymore. It's not a national rule. You would have to follow this, right? There's a death penalty for not keeping it. Yeah, you get into a difficult position here if you want to maintain the law into these other epochs of time because you really shouldn't be going in there and picking and choosing.
Yeah. Then it becomes, well, it's not truly the law of Moses or the law of God as it was given. Then it becomes something that you're manufacturing yourself. yourself. If you go on here in verse 15, we read, six days shall work be done, but the seventh day is a Sabbath of solemn rest, holy to the Lord. Whoever does any work on the Sabbath day shall be put to death.
Verse 16, therefore the people of Israel shall keep the Sabbath, observing the Sabbath throughout their generations as a covenant forever. So, you know, some people look at that and say, well, if it's just Israel and God, and it's a relationship and a practice between them, still, it's something that's forever. We've got to be really careful with that word forever, because it's the Hebrew word olam. And olam is a word that does not mean eternal.
It doesn't mean without end. It is a word that sometimes means for an age or the generations. It's a long time. It actually has that sense of seeing through to some kind of vanishing point, but it doesn't mean or prove eternal. This is important to recognize here with Sabbath and these particular ordinances that surround it. Yeah, it's very similar in the Greek. The Greek word is aion, which is sometimes translated as forever, and sometimes it's an age.
It's just a very long period. It's forever. Yeah, we have to be careful with that. I think we can understand that in that sense here, where it's the covenant forever. It's for the age and relates to this epoch of time that we're talking about, right? So, you can see other examples of that, I think, in the Old Testament where the word forever doesn't mean forever. Do you have any examples of that? Well, there are lots of examples. Certainly, masters and slaves would be one of those examples.
Exodus 21 verse 6, there's a relationship there and a passage there that would indicate that They would be existent forever and ever. As masters and slaves. As masters and slaves. Obviously can't be forever. It uses a word there. Exactly. There's got to be some limitation there. We know we are mortal. Another example would be related to the feasts. Think of when the feasts of the Passover was implemented in Exodus 12, verse 6. Again, it was to be an ordinance forever.
But clearly the feasts were not kept forever and ever.
They're not being kept now people aren't keeping them even groups who like to keep the sabbath don't keep these feasts so you know if you understand this word olam it helps you understand that all these ordinances and practices of which there are many are not forever and ever they are for this age for this period of time for this epoch right and then it ends here in this passage in verse 17 where it says, it is a sign forever, again, that word forever, between me and the people of Israel.
So again, that summarizes again what we're talking about. And it says, in six days, the Lord made heaven and earth, and on the seventh day, he rested and was refreshed. So there's where it refers back to the Genesis account. You can see why now in the Genesis account, there's this commentary on why God rested on the seventh day, because he meant it to foreshadow for the children of Israel this enacting out of ceasing from their own works and resting on this Sabbath day.
But I think in Genesis 1, when you look at the days of creation, there's a lot of spiritual lessons in the days of creation that God is trying to bring forth for the children of Israel and for our lives that have really this Sabbath was meant for a greater picture than just having a day of rest, taking it easy and recharging the batteries. Thanks for watching!
Yeah, exactly. And the law recognized this. People had the opportunity to go beyond the law-keeping component of the law of Moses to understand the lessons and the spirituality of what was going on here. A really good passage for this is in Isaiah 58. It deals with a whole number of matters like fasting, the real fast, but also talks about the principle of the Sabbath.
So, Isaiah 58 and verse 13, we read there, If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath, from doing your pleasure on my holy day, and call the Sabbath a delight and the holy day of the Lord honorable, if you honor it, not going your own ways or seeking your own pleasure or talking idly, then you shall take delight in the Lord, and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth.
So, you get a real sense that the substance of the Sabbath and the message that was to be learned in the Sabbath was still evident in this epoch of time. And the hope was that Israelites would move beyond the law-keeping that would sort of get them on track to these more godly and spiritual principles. That's a really good way to put it. What was the substance or the real meaning behind the Sabbath? Sabbath because it is part of the Ten Commandments. It was the fourth one.
Thou shalt honor the Sabbath day to keep it holy. And it's interesting in that passage, it's in Exodus 20, verses 9-10. God says, you shall cease from your work that you do six days and honor my Sabbath day. And I think the emphasis there is on your work. What you're doing. And it's also mentioned here in this Isaiah passage in verse 58 that you cease from doing your pleasure, your pleasure on my holy day.
So, as this broadens out, I think this becomes really the key question and the whole lesson about the Sabbath is whose work are we going to do, not just on one day, but in our lives? Who are we going to serve, self, or are we going to serve God? And so that really brings in this third epoch of time, because when we get to Jesus Christ being born, we're going to see a passage later on that says he was born under the law. So he's born under this epoch of time, the law of Moses.
So he's going to be keeping these things in the true sense of the word, in the spirit of the law, because he's now at a time where we see, again, a lot of references, but most of them are this confrontation with these Pharisees who have developed all these things around the law and these lists of do's and don'ts for the Sabbath, even to the sense where walking is a work, so how far can you walk on the Sabbath?
It gets to that level, and Jesus really takes them to task for not really upholding what is the spirit of the law. In terms of Sabbath, it becomes a real contention. He's always doing good on the Sabbath and they argue with him about it and really get quite angry about it and it becomes one of the reasons they seek to kill him.
Right. And if you go to Matthew chapter 11, I think we've got a beautiful passage here that really gets at the heart of the change that is about to happen here with the appearance of Christ. And that is that this rest, this Sabbath, is no longer just a day where they do specific things and don't do certain other things, but now it comes down to life in Christ. And there's a beautiful invitation made in Matthew 11, 28.
Come to me, Jesus says, all who labor and are heavy laden, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you and learn from me, for I am gentle and lowly in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For my yoke is easy and my burden is light.
So, you know, you get this sense and certainly see it in the life of Christ that as opposed to defending the rule keeping of the law, and of course he kept the law, he's pointing people through to the greater meeting, expecting some maturity, some growth here, and giving the opportunity for people to come into him. And it's really our lives now are associated with Christ. And hence, there's rest seven days a week. CB Right. Yeah, it's a beautiful passage.
That word rest there is not the word Sabbath, but it's another word, but it's often mixed with the Sabbath. It's a Sabbath of rest in that way. And it's interesting that we have a chapter break here in chapter 12 that wasn't there in the original. So, the context flows on into one of these controversies about the Sabbath. So, he talks about the rest, the true rest that he's going to give all of those who believe in him. And then in chapter 12, let me just read this. It starts at verse 1.
At that time, Jesus went through the grain fields on the Sabbath. His disciples were hungry, and they began to pluck heads of grain and to eat. But when the Pharisees saw it, they said to him, Look, your disciples are doing what is not lawful to do on the Sabbath.
He said to them, Have you not read what David did when he was hungry, and those who were with him, how he entered the house of God and ate the bread of the presence, which is not lawful for him to eat, nor for those who are with him, but only for the priests? Or have you not read in the law, how on the Sabbath the priests in the temple profane the Sabbath and are guiltless.
I tell you, something greater than the temple is here, and if you had known what this means, I desire mercy and not sacrifice, you would not have condemned the guiltless. For the Son of Man is Lord of the Sabbath. So here's one of these points, and I think it's important that Jesus is really establishing a principle here.
He's saying like, you Pharisees, you're so concerned about the keeping of the Sabbath in its minutiae, in the details here that you're losing the bigger picture about what the Sabbath is all about. And so he brings up some things about how even in the law, there was circumcision. And circumcision would be done on the Sabbath because it was the greater principle. So, the Sabbath was broken for these principles. It's not like, well, as he says there, man was not created for the Sabbath.
Sabbath was created for man. He says that because it teaches us a lesson about things. That's what Christ often did. Like in Matthew 5, he would list different laws you have heard, and then he would say, this is the higher principle in the law. law. For instance, thou shalt not commit adultery, which was one of the Ten Commandments. But he says, but I say unto you, whosoever looks upon a woman to lust after her has committed adultery in his heart.
You go, whoa, that's a real new interpretation for the Jews at the time about what the law is really all about, the spirit of the law. He doesn't mention the Sabbath in that Matthew 5, but you wonder here in passages like this, it's the same principle.
He's raising, he's elevating it what it really means and that's helpful as we go through the epochs of time you're moving from the genesis period where we've got the pattern established to people now that are operating at a very basic level who need to be brought up and mature and christ is now really setting them up for this new era this new way in him to operate according to these more mature and developed ways to get to the substance of what this is
all about and you see that when you get to the apostolic period, again, there's not this set of material that's given out to say, keep the Sabbath, and this is how you go about keeping the Sabbath. Instead, what we have is certainly Paul going on the Sabbath and preaching to the Jews. And otherwise, a reference that's very clear, for example, in Colossians 2, 16 to 17, to say that we're not to make judgments on. Keeping of days, keeping of Sabbath.
So, while some continued to keep the Sabbath and try to maintain this, the Jews had to learn that we're moving forward in Christ, and we're now going to practice the Sabbath principle in our lives seven days a week. And that's what really the death of Christ came. It came to fulfill the law, to put it into this higher state for those of faith to really live the spirit of the law, which in this sense, the Sabbath is not doing your own work, but doing God's work.
Not just one day, but all the time. Exactly. Would you agree? Yeah. Exactly. Yeah. So, yeah, it's really interesting, I think, trying to find it in the New Testament, like you said.
Where's the Sabbath? After the Acts of the Apostles in the epistles, the Sabbath is only mentioned a couple times, times, and it's not given as a directive to do that, even though there was ample opportunity, say like in Acts 15, when they're trying to decide, you know, are we going to keep the law of Moses or we're not? And they say, we're not. And there's no mention of the Sabbath at all as an exception to that.
We'll talk about that more in the next section, but let's talk about the fourth epoch, the kingdom of God. So when Jesus Christ returns, and this might be hard to kind grapple in our minds that the way that we're living now is going to totally change. Because Christ is going to institute again a national government based upon the law of the Lord. As it says in Isaiah 2, the law of the Lord shall go forth from Zion at this time.
And so you can see in the prophetic passages this reinstitution of national laws for a people that will be governed during that time, a mortal population that might surprise some people listening to the podcast, we have to get into that later, that they will again be under some things that seem similar to the Law of Moses. But they're different. But the Sabbath is one of them. It seems to come back and be an instructional tool.
Ezekiel mentions this at this time. Ezekiel 44 and verse 24 and Ezekiel 46, 1 through 3, where Ezekiel's talking about this future age, this millennial age when Christ is reigning, and how there's going to be the Sabbath again. You kind of, hmm, that could be different. Yeah, and in light of the epochs, it's really interesting to see that when it was introduced, all these ordinances to the children of Israel was a time when they were idolatrous, they knew nothing of God.
And so there was this institution of very rudimentary basic practices to try to teach them and get them on track. Guess what? When the kingdom of God comes, there's going to be a lot of people have no concept about God and no understanding of that. So once again, you've got kind of this introduction of the use of this, like your term, the instructional tool to get people back into learning about God and Christ.
So yes, we're going to see some Sabbath practice and some observance of this in the kingdom age for the mortal population to again reorient them to God. Because right now, the world does not know God and it's getting farther and farther away. way.
Look, just take a look at this passage in Hebrews 4. It's our last passage here, but what a beauty, because this passage has reference to this period you're talking about, this epoch, but it really has a dialogue here going on that takes us from Christ and what rest really is in him through to that period. So, pick it up at verse 1 in Hebrews chapter 4. He says, Therefore, while the promise of entering his rest still stands, let us fear, lest any of us should seem to have failed to reach it.
So again, there's this rest that we're now entering into that is somehow different than the Sabbath rest. It just happens once every cycle of seven days. this is something that we're looking to enter into, and somehow we may not enter into it. And the key issue comes out in this section to be that of faith. If you look at, for example, verse 3, For we who have believed enter that rest. So the concept of belief is absolutely key here.
If you go down to verse 6, he says, Since therefore it remains for some to enter it. And those who formerly received the good news failed to enter because of disobedience. Again, you get this concept that they failed to get into the rest of the past based on the concept that they didn't have faith, they didn't believe, they didn't mature in these things.
And so – And just to kind of back up here, I think we're talking about the children of Israel coming from Exodus into the land of promise, the land of Canaan. Right. Right. So that's the background he's talking about. They didn't have faith to enter into the rest. The rest is receiving the promise of the promised land. Yeah, but in principle, it's also this coming into Christ, right? Because that's how you actually enter into the rest.
You enter into Christ, and then the full development of it is ultimately participation in this millennial age, this kingdom age that comes.
Comes so when he talks about this again it's the same principle that we had seen in isaiah it's this ceasing from our own works and participating in the things of god and so we picked that up like for verse 9 he says so then there remains a sabbath rest for the people of god for whoever has entered god's rest has also rested from his works as god did from his so that's that that same principle. So right now, we come into a rest like that, Matthew 11, into Christ.
Final fruition, the final pattern of this is coming into the kingdom of age and experience a millennial rest that's day by day and obviously through that whole thousand-year period. I think that's what's interesting. Going back to the creation period, the seventh day is the day of rest.
And then when you talk about these epochs of time, it seems like the thousand-year reign of Christ is the 7,000th year is talked about as the Sabbath rest, kind of in relation to the account of the days of creation. So from the very beginning, God had this plan that he's going to bring this kingdom, which is going to be this day of rest and restoration for a thousand years in the kingdom of God.
Amazing pattern, really. Yeah, it's really interesting. Kind of big overview there, but there's a lot of details that we can go into, but we're out of time. Yes, very quickly. But I think that was really helpful in just contemplating these epochs of time as it relates to the Sabbath and to other things that might come from the different laws of the times and how they relate to us and how we have to be ready for that.
But it really relates to during this epoch, during the law of Christ, we have a greater or fulfillment of that in our lives, living according to God and not to ourselves. So, in the next podcast, we're going to take maybe a more negative look at it. I don't know if I see that. But more of like, how do other Christians look at this, I guess? Because there's Christians who say we should be keeping the Sabbath, that there should be some sort of keeping of this part of the law of Moses.
And we're going to dig a little bit deeper into the New Testament meanings and why that's not the case. I think we've developed a good basis here. Go forward and answer some of those questions. I look forward to that. Okay. Podcasts are great, but it's even better studying the Bible with friends. If you would like to join us for a live Zoom online Bible study, then go to our website at www.essentialbiblestudies.org to see the times and how to connect in.
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Find out more at www.bookroadchristadelphians.ca Until next time, my dear friends, may God help you to grow in the grace and knowledge of our Lord and Savior Jesus Christ. To him be the glory both now and to the day of your life. Music.