Theological Branch: Eschatology



Topic: Types of Sabbaths

Col 2:16 KJV 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:

The above text has made some to believe that the Seventh day Sabbath is a "...shadow of things to come; but the body is of Christ..." (Col 2:17 Kjv).
A mere glance at the first qoute above we can see a classification, 
(a) in meat
(b) in drink
(c) respect of an holy day
(d) new moon
(e) sabbath days

This classification is particular to Hebrew Law code. In Romans  7:1 KJV  Paul's argument for the perpetuity of the law, he begins by saying that "... I speak to them that know the law..." 

In theological terms we call such an argument an appodictic argument because the reference to the topic of the argument is known to the intended audience. 

Unfortunately  arguments presented by Paul have a tendence to defy some implied audiences, most of which are modern day Christians who do not know the Law like the people in Paul's time did. Romans 14 is a conclusion initiated in chapter (four up to seven) about the Law of God with respect to appodictism(laws particular to Hebrews) and Casuitism(generalized laws).

The sabbaths argument then comes as a matter of supposed knowledge of the laws of God. 

The Collosean querry therefore becomes very clear if you read Leviticus 23: 33-39

Lev 23:39 KJV 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.
It is these convocations that constituted activities that were a shadow of those things to come. And there's a clear distinction in this chapter between the sabbaths and the Sabbath of the Lord:

Lev 23:38 KJV Beside the sabbaths of the LORD...
So when Paul is saying don't be judged concerning these ordinances he's referring to  Jewish laws that pointed to the coming Messiah and it is these laws that are in the catagory of meats and drinks and holy days and sabbaths. 

Rather the contrast is therefore the Sabbaths of the LORD...which our previous lecture showed that Isaiah even made a difference between sabbath's and those Sabbaths of the LORD.

Since the Seventh day Sabbath was not aMessianic nor did it have anything to do with the first coming of the Messiah, though the Sabbath will definitely play a role in the second coming of the Messiah. The Sabbath was very prominent in the death and resurrection of Jesus as we shall see in later lectures why Jesus' death was on that particular time in history.

In Acts 15 the Sabbath does not appear as anything controverted or needfull of precaution. Whereas it was the ceremonial (Messianic) law code that the Leaders had to caution the gentiles to avoid and never was the Seventh day Sabbath a point of contention. It is only with the rise of Eurocentric Latinized Christianity that Sabbath become a point of contention and never was that so with  the Hebrew Christians. And we know that African Christians never had contention with the Sabbath.

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