The Sabbath

The Sabbath is the one and only Commandment of GOD which can be fulfilled simply by doing absolutely NOTHING.  One can therefore fulfil the Commandment of observing the Sabbath literally every second of the day, even while sleeping.  All that is required is that one does NOT do any work.  

The Sabbath is outstandingly unique in this respect, giving man the opportunity to be totally immersed in a Commandment for an entire day, without any positive effort on his part.  

“You shall keep my Sabbaths ... that you may know that I am the LORD who sanctifies you.”  Exodus 31:13.  At all other times, man must strive to keep the Commandments, but on the Sabbath man need only refrain from doing and GOD does the rest.  What does GOD do?  He sanctifies those who observe the Sabbath.  How does this work?  To understand this, we must first understand what the Sabbath is.


What is the Sabbath?

The Sabbath is the Glory of GOD infused into Time.  In other words, the Sabbath is the Sanctification of Time.  GOD made a portion of Time on earth Holy.  What makes Time Holy?  The presence of GOD's Glory.

Note what Scripture says: “And on the 7th day GOD ended His work which He had done, and He rested on the 7th day from all His work which He had done.”  Genesis 2:2.  But how can GOD end His work on the same day He rested?  If GOD did nothing on the Sabbath, then obviously He must have finished on the 6th day, right?  Wrong!  Creation was not completed until GOD sanctified it by immersing it in His Glory, and that occurred on the 7th day.  GOD rested and His Glory permeated into every living being within the Physical Dimension.


How should the Sabbath be Observed?   

“The 7th day is the Sabbath of the LORD thy GOD, in it thou shalt do no labour.”  Exodus 20:10.  GOD does not tell us how to keep the Sabbath, He simply tells us to do no labour.  Our definition of labour then, will define how the Sabbath will be observed.  But how is ‘labour’ to be defined?  What does the definition encompass and what does it exclude?  The Dictionary defines ‘labour’ as “an expenditure of energy, striving application of effort or exertion to a purpose.”  This may surprise most people but that is NOT the Biblical definition of labour!

GOD defines labour in a completely different way.  Just as GOD ceased from His labour (the Creation of worlds) on the Sabbath, so man is called upon to refrain from ‘creative’ labour on the Sabbath.  What is Creative Labour?  Creative labour is anything that manipulates, modifies, or changes, our environment.  Now we realise one important thing - that labour has got nothing to do with the amount of energy we exert or how tired we become.

On the Sabbath Day, GOD rested - He stopped creating - He no longer interfered with His world.  GOD's definition of rest then is to stop all interference with the world.  During the 6 days of Creation, GOD asserted His mastery of the Universe by actively changing it.  On the Sabbath, He “rested” by no longer asserting His mastery over it.


A Call to Separation

ALL the Commandments call us to emulate GOD, and the Sabbath is no exception.  The Sabbath is a call of the highest order - to separate ourselves from the world and from all worldly affairs.  On the Sabbath we are to emulate GOD by withdrawing from the world, and refraining from any participation in the world.  When we do this, the Glory of GOD envelopes our souls and we abide in His real presence.

The Sabbath is called the “Day of Eternity” because it is a portion of Heaven on earth.  The Sabbath is uncreated because it is the Glory of GOD which has always existed.  In the Sabbath, GOD gives man the supreme gift of His own holiness which transforms our souls into His likeness.  On the Sabbath we rest in GOD by resting in His Glory.  This is a Spiritual rest which invigorates our soul with Spiritual strength in order that we can continue the journey towards GOD in our life.


The Soul that Does Not Rest in GOD is Cut-off

“You shall keep the Sabbath, therefore, for it is holy to you.  Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to Death, for whoever does any work on it, that person shall be cut-off ...”  Exodus 31:14.  The soul that does not rest in GOD is cut-off from GOD.  Either you abide in GOD's Glory (the Sabbath) or you are cut-off from GOD - and everything that is cut-off from GOD will DIE.

“Everyone who profanes it shall surely be put to Death ...”  Exodus 31:14.  Note the person who does not abide in GOD is already Spiritually DEAD.  This verse simply instructs us to physically remove the Spiritually Dead from among the Spiritually Living in order to uphold a holy relationship with GOD, which must be preserved above all else.


Our Eternal Rest in Christ

We now know that the Sabbath is more than just rest.  It is abiding in GOD's presence and thereby in His Glory.  Paul states in Colossians 2:17, that the Sabbath was a “foreshadow of our eternal rest in Christ.”  What does this mean?  Has the Sabbath changed in any way?  Since the Sabbath is the Glory of GOD, we know that His Glory does NOT change.

Has the day of rest then been moved from Saturday to Sunday?  Some Christians say yes, some say no.  In reality, it is we who have been moved not the Sabbath.  

Under the Old Covenant, GOD's Glory entered into Time every 7th Day of the week.  In the New Covenant however, it we who enter into the Glory of GOD by abiding in Christ.  And in Christ there is no more “Time” as we enter into the eternity of GOD in GOD.

Therefore, those who abide in Christ, abide in GOD's timeless Glory.  Those who do not abide Christ, abide in NOTHING.  Christ is the fulfilment of ALL, and outside of Christ there is NOTHING.