The Sabbath is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew verb Shabbat which is by interpretation REST. So the seventh day simply means rest; not the rest of man but of God. Nevertheless the Rest of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sabbath day was a shadow of the Image which is the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16-17) who was to come to give all God’s creations Eternal rest from all earthly filthy works; therefore whoever comes to Jesus welcomes the Holy Sabbath of the Lord, and dies from all the works of the flesh by bearing the good fruits of the eternal Holy Spirit of God through well doing. The day is not holy but the Lord is holy, therefore observing the day without the Lord Jesus is absolutely nothing because He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). He is the one who sanctifies it and makes it Holy. He that has put on Christ has the rest of God and is obedient to the whole word of God being submissive and thankful to the works of God having been saved by grace through the finished works of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary.
Genesis 2:2-3 And on the seventh day God ended his work which he had made; and he rested on the seventh day from all his work which he had made. 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.
The Sabbath is the sanctified seventh day of the week on which God rested from all His wonderful works of creation. It was a day ordained by God in the very beginning to be a sign between Him and all His creations and it was to be observed by man throughout all generations as so long as the world endures. Think ye that the Sabbath came with Moses among the Ten Commandments? surely it did; but the Holy Sabbath observance predates all the patriarchs including Abraham. The seventh day was given to Adam and to all his seed not as a law nor commandment but it was a special day of resting in the presence of the Lord, a day of praise and worship, a day of fellowship and thanks giving, whereby all things were at rest on earth both man, animals and fields for regeneration purposes. Day after day; the generation of sinful men came into the earth and the people forgot all about the righteousness of God who had created them but the chosen root kept all God’s righteousness and they were sure to His statues. From Adam to Jacob, all these Patriarchs kept the word of integrity and the righteousness of God; they were well versed with all the commandments of God and they kept His statutes daily. The Sabbath was not just a carnal commandment or law to them but they rejoiced in the obedience of God’s word by spirit revelation. The children of Israel in Egypt could not observe the Sabbath because they were in bondage; they had no choice under their slave masters who were pagan and knew not the God of the Hebrews who had created the whole heaven and earth. After four hundred years of bondage, God sent Moses to deliver them from the chains of slavery to go into the land which He had promised to Abraham. God therefore reminded the Children of Israel to ‘’remember the SABBATH Day and to keep it holy’’ as their forefathers did (Exodus 20:8).
THE PROPHETIC FULFILLMENT OF THE SABBATH
The Sabbath day speaks about great mysteries and not just a day of the week and these include;-
1. Jesus as our Sabbath;
The Sabbath is the Lord Jesus Christ Himself. The word Sabbath comes from the Hebrew verb Shabbat which is by interpretation REST. So the seventh day simply means rest; not the rest of man but of God. Nevertheless the Rest of God is the Lord Jesus Christ. The Sabbath day was a shadow of the Image which is the Lord Jesus Christ (Colossians 2:16-17) who was to come to give all God’s creations Eternal rest from all earthly filthy works; therefore whoever comes to Jesus welcomes the Holy Sabbath of the Lord, and dies from all the works of the flesh by bearing the good fruits of the eternal Holy Spirit of God through well doing. The day is not holy but the Lord is holy, therefore observing the day without the Lord Jesus is absolutely nothing because He is the Lord of the Sabbath (Mark 2:28). He is the one who sanctifies it and makes it Holy. He that has put on Christ has the rest of God and is obedient to the whole word of God being submissive and thankful to the works of God having been saved by grace through the finished works of the Lord Jesus Christ at the cross of Calvary.
2. The seventh day represents the Millennium Reign.
The victory over Satan that we have obtained and the the peace or the rest which we have got in Christ is not like the peace that the world offers. Neither is it just a day, but the person of Jesus existing in eternity. Therefore, our rest is eternal in righteousness and holiness before Him. By this revelation we understand that the Sabbath of the Lord Spoke about God’s kingdom on earth where the Lord Jesus Christ shall reign as King of Kings and Lord of Lords. A day before the Lord is as a thousand years on earth (2 Peter 3:8), therefore the Seventh day of God’s rest prophetically speaks about the dispensation of the millennium reign of the saints on earth with the Lord Jesus Christ in total perfect peace and rest from all sin; evil; oppression and all heavy burdens. It shall be a time of total joy; happiness; rejoicing; and thanksgiving, where the Lord Himself shall wipe away all our tears and shall avenge all our enemies on our behalf. There shall not be any more pain; suffering; hard work; oppression; not even any single germ cell or disease forever.
WHICH DAY SHOULD WE GATHER FOR FELLOWSHIP?
Why therefore should it be a burden for Christians to fellowship on the Sabbath day? Isn’t it scriptural? Wasn’t it ordained by God in the day of creation before any commandment and law was given to man? Didn’t the first church age of the Apostles commune on it? (Acts 13:14, 27, 42–44; 15:21; 16:13; 17:2; and 18:4). Isn’t it written that it shall be observed even during the millennium kingdom of God on earth? (Isaiah 66:23-24). What went wrong then? Fellow Christians, the law of God is perfect and sure (Psalm 19:7). However; it does not give eternal life, neither does it offer Salvation. Eternal life is in the Lord Jesus Christ only. Surely we did not obtain salvation by keeping the law and the commandments but through the sacrificial death of the lord Jesus Christ as a substitute atonement for our sins. Now that we have obtained eternal life, the grace of God helps us to keep His commandments and to remain pure and undefiled from the pollutions of this evil world. Why are so many Christians puffed up concerning the sabbath? What is it to the Lord for you to worship on Monday, Tuesday, Wednesday, Thursday, Friday, Saturday, or Sunday? Is it anything to the Lord? Does it change anything from God? Absolutely No, but it’s for your own good to keep the word of God perfectly as He ordained it through His servants the prophets and Apostles by the Holy Spirit. If you choose Sunday or Friday for general gatherings and you reject Saturday which is the SABBATH of the Lord, what does it benefit the Lord? What’s the difference between Saturday and Sunday? Are we so carnally minded saying that Friday is a day for Moslem gatherings, Saturday for the SDA church and Sunday for other religious Christian denominations? Probably other people may say; some day is for Satan worship; God forbid. What things have we believed church? What is the cause for the divisions and denominations? Aren’t they manmade creeds and dogmas after rejecting God’s word? You can find a professing Christian saying, I cannot go to church on Saturday because it’s the Sabbath of the lord!!! What?? Surely a perverted and perishing generation, fellow Christians, I want you to know that fellowshipping on the Sabbath Day (Saturday) is not an evil thing. Actually its a blessing to keep the commandments of the Lord of which the Sabbath is among the Ten commandments. The Jewish community and the Seventh Day Adventist Church observe the Sabbath in flesh without first accepting the Deity of the Lord Jesus Christ. This keeps them in total bondage because they think that keeping the Law can earn them Salvation. These keep and Observe the Sabbath according to the Old Covenant which was given at mountain Sinai to Moses subjecting them to carnal ordinations of; Don't touch, don't eat, don't feel, don't walk a sabbath's journey on the sabbath day, etc, however all these border laws and carnal ordinations were crucified at the cross of Calvary and men ought not to be under such bondage again. The Lord Jesus Christ saved us from the curse of the Law which no man could fulfill and no man could be saved by observing it. Now we should worship the Lord in Truth and Spirit on any chosen day as led by the Holy Spirit. We are only bound by the Spirit of God during our general gatherings on Sabbath or on any other chosen day.
Fellow Christians never think that the Sabbath was changed from Saturday to Sunday;(Check the Sunday Law). The sabbath of the Lord remains Saturday and the Lord of the Sabbath is Jesus Christ.
The first day of the week (Sunday) is also the day that the Lord Jesus Christ Resurrected from the grave (Luke 24:1-7). On that day the early Apostles and Christians gathered together for breaking bread and shared the word of the God in honour of the lord Jesus Christ (Acts 20:7, 1 Corinthians 16:2).
The day on which the Lord Jesus resurrected from the grave is also called the Lord’s Day and on the same day John the divine was caught up in spirit to receive the revelations of Jesus Christ (Revelation 1:10). The early Christians fellowshipped on the Lord’s Day (Sunday), but they did not abolish the Sabbath. They both gathered on Sabbath to worship and on Sunday to break bread. Therefore there is no condemnation to a man or woman fellowshipping on either Sabbath or on Sunday as so long as he/she is in the Lord Jesus Christ, all days are for the Lord and worth fellowshipping, whether Monday or Friday (Colossians 2:16-17).
The early Christians chose to gather together to worship God on Sunday on addition to the Sabbath rather than any other day of the week; in remembrance of the day of the Lord’s resurrection. However the gathering of the Christians on the first day of the week does not make Sunday become the Christian Sabbath, the Sabbath remains Saturday (the seventh day of the week).
Therefore as long as you have Christ in you, you are free to gather and worship God on any chosen day of the week whether Sabbath or Sunday or Wednesday (Rather I counsel you to choose the Sabbath and the Lord’s day for your general gatherings as did the Apostles). The Focus should not be the day; but rather the fellowship of brethrens in Christ Jesus. Respecting or observing a day does not earn you righteousness from God, neither does it benefit Him.
Finally; let us turn back to the lord, destroy the barriers of denominations, cast away man made creeds and dogmas which were developed overtime by self-willed gluttonous men with aim to take advantage of God’s people. God never called you to be a Catholic, protestant, Baptist, Methodist, Orthodist, Seventh Day Adventist (SDA) nor a Pentecostal. He called you to Himself that you may bear his character after the growth of the fruit of the Holy Spirit in you.
A True Christian is any Born Again Man or Woman, fully filled with the Holy Spirit and transformed into the image of Jesus Christ. No denomination will ever inherit the kingdom Of God. God is only Seeking Fruit out of you after you have confessed on the Lord Jesus (Matthew 3:10).
John 4:20-24 Our fathers worshipped in this mountain; and ye say, that in Jerusalem is the place where men ought to worship. 21: Jesus saith unto her, Woman, believe me, the hour cometh, when ye shall neither in this mountain, nor yet at Jerusalem, worship the Father. 22: Ye worship ye know not what: we know what we worship: for salvation is of the Jews. 23: But the hour cometh, and now is, when the true worshippers shall worship the Father in spirit and in truth: for the Father seeketh such to worship him. 24: God is a Spirit: and they that worship him must worship him in spirit and in truth.
AMEN ''Awakening The Sleeping Bride''